Out the Window
by s.Two
Summary: Li Syaoran is the best in the force. Looks, words and skills, he's got it all, and he works alone. Solo. Until Kinomoto Sakura enters his life. Now, everything he's ever known is thrown out the window. SS
1. Chapter 1

So I haven't written a CCS story since 2008…which would mean I've been away from the fandom for a good 3 years… I suddenly had the urge to write a story that's been floating around for quite a while. I am still a student, and therefore studies will be my primary concern, so please forgive and excuse my erratic updates :).

This is a rated story, a co-work between another author and me. We share the ideas, but I will be writing.

* * *

"_**He's headed south-east corner"**_

"Got it,"

"_**He's going fast, don't lose visual"**_

"I know,"

"_**The others are headed that way now"**_

"I got this," Dark amber eyes narrowed on the figure a few feet ahead of him. The crowd of people passed him carelessly, not knowing nor caring about what was going on around them. The hidden headset in his ears buzzed in his ears as he heard the static of silence. Every now and then orders floated from the earphones into his eardrums, and he grunted in acknowledgement and out of annoyance.

"_Damn it I can do my job,"_ he thought to himself. As they rounded the corner, his eyes flicked to the other side of the street. Several black cars were pulling up simultaneously, its passengers getting out at once. He cursed under his breath,

"Tell your team to back down," he hissed into his miniature microphone. He tensed when he saw his target look back, and then look at the group of people who were discretely (or not so discretely if you asked him) crossing the streets towards him,

"Tell them to back the hell down!" he hissed again. Too late. The target suddenly broke out into a sprint.

"Shit!" he cursed.

"_Li wait for back up—"_ Li Syaoran yanked the headset from his ears, making it dangle against his collar cutting off whatever order his superiors wanted him to follow. Adrenaline surged through his veins as though he had control over when it did, and broke into a sprint on his own,

"FBI stop!" he shouted. The crowd around him suddenly became aware of their surroundings at his outburst, and the target in front of him glanced back, seeing the tall, amber eyed agent gaining speed.

"Damn it why do they always run," he grunted to himself as he tore through the streets. "Get out of the way!" he shouted. The crowd in front of him dispersed as he tore through the streets. The target suddenly made a sharp turn, taking him through the middle of the road. Cars honked and tires screeched as drivers made the unexpected stop. Syaoran leaped over the railing on the sideways and dodged sideways from cars.

The target ran into a street filled with street stands…and crowds of people.

"Back up, I need back up East of the high way; side street district!" Syaoran shouted into his microphone, "Out of the way FBI!" he shoved people out left and right. People shouted and dispersed as he rammed his way through them. Ahead from them was a rail that fenced off the street stores from the high way that roared below. Syaoran's eyes narrowed, if the target made it past the rail, he'd lose him.

Syaoran grunted and put his last energy into sprinting faster. As he gained closed to the target, a lone pedestrian remained along the side of the street stores as opposed to the rest of the crowd who had ran out during the chase.

"Out of the way!" he shouted. The person, who turned out to be a woman looked up. He caught a glimpse of a pair of shocking emerald eyes, which he lost as soon as she looked down. Narrowing his eyes on his target, something dropped out of the woman's hand in front of the target. Too busy trying to escape Syaoran, the target failed to realize something in his way,

"Argh!" the man shouted as he stumbled and crashed hard onto the cement street. Syaoran slowed down, quickly dropping down to put his weight onto the man's back. He immediately pulled both arms to his back. Syaoran did a quick pat down, pulling out a small revolver from his back pocket; he quickly threw it to the side,

"You are going to get the bill to my dry cleaning," Syaoran grumbled as he pulled the offender up. The back-up he had requested finally showed up, and he shoved the cuffed offender towards them, "Take him,"

"Li you know that was ridiculously reckless to go off like that," his boss came up to him. Syaoran rolled his eyes, "And why were you off the mic?"

"Because I was chasing a criminal that we would have lost if I hadn't," he shot back, raising an eyebrow,

"You know if it was any other person you'd get a write up for this," his superior said, Syaoran smirked,

"Then why don't you just write one up, and then put it up on the wall along with all the other ones you said you wrote but never submitted Eriol." Eriol Hirigazawa rolled his eyes at his best agent and close friend,

"Get out of here, I don't want to see your ass until tomorrow at the meeting," Eriol snapped,

"Likewise," Syaoran smirked. As he turned to leave, he noticed on the ground that a purse laid discarded on the ground after the offender had tripped on it. He picked it up, and looked around seeing the same woman standing off to the side.

"Miss?" Syaoran gestured to her, she looked at him, and he was struck by the same emerald eyes again, "is this yours?"

"Yes, arigato," she said quickly. She plucked it from his hands,

"Did you not hear me shout to get out of the way?" Syaoran asked. The woman raised an eyebrow at him,

"I did,"

"So why didn't you?"

"Excuse me?"

"No offence ma'am, but it was pretty dangerous for you to stay where you were when a criminal was being chased down the road like that,"

"Oh sorry, I was just a bit shocked when I saw you that I dropped my bag," she apologized quickly, "I'll be out of your way now" and with that she grabbed her bag, and pulled it to her shoulder, keeping a tight grip on it. She walked away from him as Syaoran observed her,

"_She seems pretty calm for being shocked,"_ Syaoran thought to himself.

* * *

"_**Sakura where are you?"**_

"I'm coming I just got distracted," Kinomoto Sakura said as she walked up to the car parked on the side,

"_**That's what you said half an hour ago when I called you baka!"**_ her older brother's voice said from her phone. Sakura frowned, biting back a snappy response,

"Hey! I'm going to tell dad!"

"_**How old are you, tattle telling to dad? Geez, how the hell are you working for the government?"**_

"Hey! Just tell dad I'll be there soon!" Sakura shouted she quickly hung up before her brother could say anything. Rolling her eyes she quickly got into her car and ignited the engine. As she turned around to enter the road she drove by the street that was now roped off by yellow caution tape, surrounded by flashing sirens. She eyes lingered for a while.

The agent she had ran into…he was interesting. Granted when she was at the street she never thought she'd get involved in a chase. Smiling softly to herself, she quickly drove off to her father's place. Knowing him, he'd have another speech ready to warn her about the dangers of her work.

* * *

Syaoran walked into work the next day in a casual t-shirt over a dark leather jacket and dark jeans. The elevator dinged at his arrival, and the receptionist at the front of the office looked up.

"Good morning Li-san," the young girl said enthusiastically. Syaoran smirked and winked sending the younger girl into a deep blush. He chuckled to himself as he walked into the bureau, where agents and workers were already fluttering around.

"Is he here yet?" came a shout. Syaoran looked up, and saw Eriol storming his way down the stairs from his office, "Where the hell were you?"

"At what time?" Syaoran asked casually,

"The past fifteen minutes when you should have been here," Eriol said,

"Well for the last minute I'm here, the minute before I was in the elevator, the minute before that I was walking through the lobby, should I go on?" Syaoran said. Eriol rolled his eyes,

"Come on, everyone's in the conference room," Eriol walked off, making Syaoran follow him, "And the least you could do was dress up a little,"

"Just because we have a transfer here I have to get dressed up?" Syaoran asked, "Wow, who is this, better be the president's daughter or something,"

"No she's a new addition to our team,"

"Then she's got to take me as I am, jacket, looks and all," he smirked,

"And your ego," Eriol rolled his eyes, "I'm praying she'll need high tolerance to work with you,"

"Whoa wait, what are you talking about? She's working with all of us," Syaoran said. This time it was Eriol's turn to smirk,

"She's your new partner,"

"WHAT THE HELL?" Syaoran exploded. Half the office turned silent. He lowered his voice, "What the hell are you talking about Hirigazawa? A new partner? A _female_ partner? What part of I work solo don't you understand?"

"Yes a new female partner, quite frankly you could use some taming," Eriol smirked, "Hey don't look at me, it was a decision made up top man and maybe you should meet her before you say anything. She's transferring from the government division, which means she's got skills, plus she's a psychology genius,"

"I don't care if she's transferring from the fucking CIA or if she's Men in Black," Syaoran said, "I don't need a partner, they only slow you down."

"I'm not really a big fan of the Men in Black series actually…and I'm pretty sure I can catch up," said an additional voice…an additional _female_ voice. Both males turned around and Syaoran stopped. He was looking into a familiar pair of emerald green eyes. He blinked,

"It's nice to see you again too, I guess this time you're the one who's more shocked than I am," she voice chuckled.

Syaoran didn't reply. He's dark amber eyes trailed from her eyes, to the small but gentle slope of her nose, and plump pink lips accented by light shade of lipsticks. She stood at a petite height of 5'6, dressed in a smart looking blazer on top of a pale pink tank top. Only the middle two buttons of the blazers were buttoned, accenting her petite waist, her bottom half covered by a black pencil skirt and black pumps. Her auburn hair was tied up in a quick knot, strays of auburn wisps escaping the clasp. Syaoran thought it looked like she had just gotten out of bed, but in a sexy 'I put no effort into looking this good' kind of way.

Sakura wouldn't have worked for the government if she didn't notice the way the man before her observed her, and gazed up and down her body. To be honest, her heart was pounding the moment she had stepped into the office. It was one thing to have worked for the government, another to be in a completely new surrounding with people who already had preconceptions of her. Now, a man whom (she must admit) was extremely good looking was standing in front of her. The first thing she noticed were his eyes. They were an extreme brown, a fiery burning brown. He had strong cheek bones and bone structure. He wore a simple white shirt with a black leather jacket, but his white shirt was tight enough to show is trim physique and hint at his obvious abs, but not enough to make it look like he was showing it off blatantly. She smirked, _"Subtle hints at what he has but making people guess…he's definitely a flirt."_

"Enjoying your view?" he smirked. Sakura smirked back, his comment proved her thought correct.

"Enjoying yours?" she shot back just as quickly. Eriol smirked, the duo were both strong headed. This would be interesting.

"Li Syaoran," Syaoran introduced himself,

"Kinomoto Sakura,"

She raised her hand, and he took it in a tight grip.

* * *

**Slightly short, but it's only the beginning. Again I do have school so I will try to write as much as I can. Until then reviews are appreciated. :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Challenge**

**

* * *

**

"Ladies and gentlemen I would like to welcome our newest recruit, Kinomoto Sakura," Eriol gestured to the young woman standing by the corner of the room, smiling at the small group of people before her. She knew two of the four people in the room. Eriol Hiirigazawa was the one who had first called her department at the government office. They had just lost a member, and were in desperate need of a replacement. Sakura, at that time, was working as media liason for the government department (a department she was not at liberty to discuss), but prior to that she had had field training and was trained to use a gun. So when the request came through, she jumped at the chance to work with a unit that was at the top of its game.

She could see why.

Eriol was clearly the team leader, the one to keep them all intact, and would remind them to follow the rules…once in a while. His shocking navy eyes contrasted deeply against his pale white skin, and his hair was so dark it look black, but under the light she could see a glint of deep navy. He wore round glasses that made him look sort of nerdy, but by the way he stood, and addressed the group before her, Sakura could tell that when the time came, he could draw attention like a be drawn to honey.

Li Syaoran was a case on his own. Sakura knew he was a flirt, the man knew he was attractive, and didn't hesitate to flaunt it. His built physique told her that he was the spontaneous one in the group. The member that would act before he thought, preferring to achieve a goal and then consider the rules he had broken along the way after the work was done. He was cool in demeanor, and by the way he leaned against the corner of the desk, and not sitting like the rest and crossing his arms told her that he was also someone this group looked up to, and he was use to being in control…unless Eriol controlled him first. But he also had a heart. Sakura observed him quietly as the rest of the team made their way in, he and a girl with dark hair and red highlights shared friendly banter, and he had affectionately gave another girl with sapphire hair a friendly hug. Li Syaoran was the group's protector.

"Maybe Kinomoto-san would like to introduce herself," Eriol smiled. Sakura walked out from her corner,

"Konnichiwa, my name is Kinomoto Sakura, I'm 24 years old, please call me Sakura," she said with a smile. Immediately the girl with wavy sapphire hair squealed and clapped her hand in excitement,

"Sakura-chan you're so kawaii!" the girl laughed. Sakura blinked,

"That's Daidouji Tomoyo," Eriol said with a sheepish smile, "She's like that…don't mind her, but she's also a hell of a technical analyst, she pretty much gets all the information we need from the computer to us in a snap,"

"By 'getting' you mean 'hacking', then yes that's me," Tomoyo grinned. Sakura giggled, she would have never pegged her to be a computer whiz.

"I'm Meilin," the girl with black hair and red highlights said. Sakura observed that her voice was stonier than when she had first came in. Her arms were crossed across her chest, and she sat with her legs crossed and looking at her as if she was trying to stare her down. Sakura realized that she would be a bit hard to win over, untrusting of a random stranger who had just entered their team.

"She's also one of our field agents," Eriol elaborated. Sakura nodded, "And you know myself, and Syaoran, your new partner,"

"Not a partner," Syaoran grumbled, Sakura raised her eyebrow at him,

"It's nice to meet all of you, please take care of me," Sakura replied to the group, "I'm going to be acting as this team's media liason as well as an active field agent,"

"Where did you say you worked?" Meilin interrupted,

"The government,"

"Which department?" the black hair girl challenged. Sakura smirked, she could feel that she was testing her,

"I'm not at liberty to say," Sakura answered swiftly,

"What did you do?"

"I was their media liason as well,"

"Why did you come here?"

"Because I wanted to work at the field, is there anything else you'd like to ask to see if I'll trip up at some point?" Sakura retorted quickly. Meilin made a quick start, her facial expression showing her shock that Sakura had so quickly picked up at her ruse. Eriol smiled in satisfaction, and even Tomoyo giggled, patting Meilin's shoulders. Syaoran let out a snort of a chuckle, satisfied to see that someone had actually foiled Meilin's plans.

"Sakura was the best of her department, and we're all luck to have her here. Make yourself at home, Syaoran show Sakura to her new office,"

"Why me?"

"Because she's your partner,"

"For the last time she's not my damn part—"

"NOW." Eriol snapped, eyes narrowing, challenging him to finish his sentence. Syaoran shut up immediately, cursing the other man,

"Fine. Follow me," he said in a stony voice as he stormed out of the room. Eriol offered a glance of apology, and Sakura laughed shaking her head. She quickly followed Syaoran out the door, her black pumps clicking quickly against the floor. She could see the other agents in the room look at her curiously, and was more than aware at the other looks she was getting, particularly from the male population.

"You're here to work, not to flirt with other agents," Syaoran said abruptly.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Sakura said,

"Dressing like this," he gestured to her skirt, blazer and heels. He had to admit, as much as he hated the idea of having a partner, she wasn't someone he would get too tired to look at.

"Oh, you mean the same way you flirted with the secretary out front?" Sakura mentioned innocently, walking to the empty office that Syaoran was standing next to. She twirled around, and leaned against the table corner the same way Syaoran had in the meeting room, tapping a thoughtful finger against her chin,

"I told Eriol, and I'm going to tell you, I don't need a partner. I work alone." Syaoran said seriously, walking up to her.

"Correction, you work**ed** alone. Not anymore," Sakura challenged easily. Syaoran eyed her relaxed posture against the table, and for some reason it was making something inside him burn. Was it annoyance? Or maybe he was angry? He didn't know, but he didn't like how she could get into his emotions so easily. Did she know? Oh she had to!

"Just because you worked at whatever the hell the secret department of yours was, doesn't mean you know me. Fine, maybe you studied psychology, and think you can read me, but you've got something else coming," Syaoran said. Sakura quirked an eyebrow, smirking,

"Is that a challenge?" she said. Syaoran got up to her, getting up close to her, they were almost touching nose to nose. He took a small breath; he could smell the small hint of apple and cherry blossoms in her hair. His heart was pounding at the excitement of the challenge.

"It's not a challenge. It's a fact," he said in a deep and quiet voice. He pushed up to her, until she had no room but to lean further back onto the table. If she had breathed any harder, their chest would've touched. Syaoran didn't know how they had gotten so close so fast. He could hear her breathing in and out, and felt the wisp of her exhale on his cheeks and lips. He unconsciously licked them.

Sakura smirked softly as he observed his body behavior. He was an alpha male, one to like to take control, and never had control taken away from him. He was determined she would not understand or get him, and she was determined to prove him wrong. She knew his type, alpha males who thought they could dominate, but he didn't know her type. Sakura looked up at his burning amber eyes, her right hand moving from the table side and onto his shoulder. Instead of pushing him away, as he was expecting, she pulled him closer, so that they were, in fact, nose to nose, and eye to eye. Syaoran stumbled slightly trying to get his bearings. He could feel the hand on her shoulder gripping his, and his muscles flexed automatically,

"You want to bet?" she whispered almost as quietly as he did. They were so close he could taste the breaths coming from her mouth. Just a little closer and their lips would have touched. Syaoran instinctively leaned in, only to have Sakura push him further from her, straightening up from her position. It took Syaoran a slow two seconds to get his bearings, as Sakura slipped from the smalls pace between him and the table,

"Thanks for showing me to my room, I've got quite some work to do," Sakura said, gesturing to the folders on her table. She sat down as if nothing had happened, and opened the first file. A minute later, she looked up, and Syaoran was still there, "Can I help you?"

Syaoran blinked at her. How had the woman between him just a second ago turn to…this? He shook his head, mentally berating himself,

"Forget it, just leave me alone," he grumbled as he stalked out the room. Sakura waited until her door was shut before she allowed herself a smile. She placed the file down, holding her head in her hands. She could still feel the tingles in her body when he had been less than a centimeter away from her. She had never had the courage to tease a guy like that before, let alone someone as independent as Li Syaoran. She hated to admit it, but she liked it, the feeling of having control over him. She smirked as she got back to her work to sorting cases. Life just got a little more interesting.

Unbeknownst to her, the Li Syaoran in mention was also at his desk outside at the bureau, glaring into midair. He was always the player, never the one being played, and yet she had dangled him like a puppet in there, pulling him drastically close and tightening the lines, until cutting it with a pair of scissor leaving him without support. He glanced at the opened window of her room, where she was concentrating on looking through the files, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ears and sucking on the end tip of her pen. Syaoran smirked,

She wanted to play a game? He'll give her one.

* * *

For the few days Sakura had begun at the office, nothing new or important came up. Other than filtering through case files sent from other departments, Sakura had enough time to settle herself in the new surrounding. Tomoyo quickly became an important asset and a good friend at the office. The flamboyant technical analyst burst into the room with bags of trinkets and frames,

"Your office is too dreary!" Tomoyo declared. Sakura was subjected to the hurricane that was Daidouju Tomoyo as the young woman flurried around to decorate the room. A good hour later, Sakura had some frames hung up that held her documents, and her desk was decorated with some sophisticated but colourful pencil and pen holders, and had an array of sticky notes that ranged with every colour known to man.

"Oh and here, I got this," Tomoyo pulled out another frame. This time it was a delicate, black frame edged with soft silver vines. The frame held a picture of a delicate cherry blossom tree with its petals gently dancing to the ground, Sakura gasped,

"It's beautiful!"

"Isn't it?" Tomoyo beamed, "I saw it and immediately thought of you. Your name means cherry blossoms right?"

"It does, Tomoyo-san I can't thank you enough," Sakura said sincerely, gently taking the frame. She placed the picture on the raised desk that held her computer screen,

"It was my pleasure, your room isn't as big as Eriol's or Syaoran, but you probably have the most files out of all of us, so I thought you'd like to decorate," Tomoyo beamed, "Plus…with the things we see on the job, it's good to have a little something to remind us that not all things are bad," the young woman added softly, and Sakura finally understood why Tomoyo was able to be so happy all the time.

The next morning, Sakura met her dad for breakfast at a nearby café.

"Sakura, have I told you what I thought about your job?" her dad asked. Sakura sighed, stirring her coffee,

"Yes Dad you have,"

"Then I don't need to say it again,"

"No you don't. Don't worry dad, I'm just a media liason, the most danger I'll get into is some perverted guy who stares at the TV screen all day," Sakura joked. Kinomoto Fujitaka didn't find it particularly amusing,

"You're going to be the one reporting the news and describing suspects to the rest of the world. You're the one all the criminals are going to see," he frowned,

"Dad when you say it that way, nothing I do will be safe," Sakura countered, "I could walk out right now and probably five criminals would see my face."

"You know that's not what I meant,"

"I know, but don't worry dad, it's fine! It's what I want to do, I didn't spend half your life fortune and years in school to end up in some dinky office," Sakura laughed, Fujitaka finally laughed softly,

"No, you didn't."

"Don't worry, I can take care of myself," Sakura said softly to her dad.

"I know…that's what worries me," he sighed, "As long as you're not the one going about waving a gun, that's all I care about." Sakura didn't say anything, only taking a sip of her coffee. So her dad didn't know _everything_ about her job…but what he didn't know wouldn't hurt. He was already having a heart attack at the fact that she was the media representative of the FBI, she couldn't imagine how he'll react if she told him she would indeed be one of those people waving their guns around.

"Breakfast is here," the waitress brought them their pancakes, and Sakura quickly thanked her, stuffing her cheeks full to prevent her from saying anything else.

They finished their breakfast in mild and comfortable silence, until Sakura had to get into work.

Sakura got into work around the same time Syaoran did. Sakura sent him a glance, seeing his outfit choice of the day: dark jeans, and a v neck t-shirt that silhouetted his physique. Subtle, but not enough that people would not take the time to appreciate his obviously well taken care of body. Syaoran caught her quick glance of him and sent a glance of his own, adding a smirk. Her hair was straight today, and tied in a pony tail. To keep things professional, she wore a pair of straight legged dress pants, paired with a tucked in v-necked peach sweater, decorated by a brown braided belt and ending her ensemble in a pair of fashionable black beels.

"Morning," he said,

"Morning," she said. She turned and disappeared into her office he went into the kitchen to get some coffee. Per morning routine, he made his round, teasing Melin again, and dropping by Tomoyo's computer room before heading to Eriol's office. Usually they would round up all the cases they've done previously, and discussing future cases and routines. For that hour, people have learned not to interrupt them.

Sakura, however was another matter. Glancing through files, one caught her attention in particular, and she grabbed in, dashing through the office ignoring questioning looks. Her hands were on the office door handle before anyone could say anything, and she burst into the room. Syaoran and Eriol both looked up,

"Excuse me we're in a meeting here," Syaoran retorted. Sakura ignored him, her face in concentration,

"You might want to look at this," and she dropped the file on the desk between Eriol and Syaoran. Eriol grabbed the file, flipping it open and sharing it with Syaoran, "This was just faxed to me half an hour ago. The authorities are looking for a man who's been kidnapping children in local malls and public places. They haven't gotten a chance to catch him until…until a body showed up a few days ago." Sakura took a breath.

"The authorities found another body just yesterday, and the time of death placed the child a few days older than the body found earlier. Both boys were children who were abducted a week ago,"

"I saw the news," Syaoran said quickly, "How come we haven't been told earlier?"

"They didn't think they needed to. It was a normal missing children's case until the bodies turned up,"

"Get Tomoyo to check how many boys have been missing since the kidnappings," Eriol said,

"I already did," Sakura cut through which made Syaoran look at her in surprise, "The two boys were the only two reported in the past two weeks. They were at the same mall at the time they were both kidnapped, both boys showed up this week,"

"Which means whoever's kidnapping them is going to be out again," Eriol finished. He stood up, "Sakura get the team together, meeting in 2." Sakura nodded quickly picking up the files and going to find the appropriate people. Eriol looked at Syaoran, who nodded quickly,

"She's good," Eriol said quietly as they quickly gathered her things. Syaoran remained silent, "Come on you have to admit it. Any other person would have ignored that case and thought it was a coincidence or wouldn't have taken the initiative to further investigate before coming to us."

"I never said she wasn't good," Syaoran snapped, "Let's just see how good she is in the field,"

The team gathered in the room in two minutes, Tomoyo with her laptop, and Meilin concentrating on the screen that showed pictures of the two missing (now deceased) young boys. Sakura turned around, nervous at her first presentation at a case that went through her hands.

"Two days ago, a young boy's body was found in the middle of a park," Sakura started, "Yesterday, this boy's body was found by a nearby pond. His death was dated to be earlier than the boy from the park, both were reported missing after a shopping trip last week at the mall."

"How do we know they're related?" Meilin asked,

"Sakura-chan asked me to check into the boys, and I got into the mall's security tape, both boys were at the mall and were reported missing from the mall around the same time frame," Tomoyo said, "So I went to look even further, the boys weren't even with their parents. They both had sisters, who were out on dates with their boyfriends. The boys were left alone while the sister went somewhere, she came back, and they were gone."

"We know the time line," Eriol said stiffly, "kidnapped children are usually killed within 24 hours, we're going to head to Tokyo,"

"Wait we can't just head there without them calling us!" Meilin protested,

"We got the invite ten minutes ago," Sakura interrupted, "I've called, they've set up a space for us, they're ready for us to step in,"

"Good, let's get going," Eriol said, "Syaoran, Sakura in one car, the rest with me." Eriol's face held no room for jokes. Sakura quickly gathered her equipment and files, scurrying to her office to grab her stuff.

"Don't hold me back," Syaoran said as they made their way to his car. She raised an eye at him,

"Same to you," she retorted. The entire ride to the station was silent.

* * *

As promised, as soon as the group got there, there was a space cleared out for them. They laid out all their files,

"What do we have?" Syaoran asked,

"We're probably looking at a male around 40 years old. Your technician sent us the mall tape, and both times he was wearing the same hat." The officer at the station said,

"Tomoyo go to the mall, get into their tapes. Sakura, call to tell them we're coming," Eriol ordered. Both girls nodded. "We're going to need someone to go undercover. He might be at the mall today looking for more children."

"We can't, we go in, he'll know we're here and he might panic," Syaoran protested.

"The mall security knows, I sent them a freeze frame picture too so they know who and what to look for. I think he's at the mall. People like him aren't patient. He got rid of the two kids he had days apart from each other, which means he isn't patient, and he'll need to get new replacements, and soon." Sakura said, her eyes narrowing on the board in front of her,

"Are you sure?" Melin asked. Sakura glanced at her, unsure at why the other girl was so doubtful of her deductions,

"I'm sure. If he was someone patient, they bodies won't show up so fast after their deaths, and definitely not as such public places. He would have taken the time to hide them, and watch how people react to the two missing boys before doing anything else. But this isn't the case. Both bodies were dumped in places where there was obviously a lot of traffic, and he didn't do a good job at hiding them, which means he either was in a hurry, or he couldn't be bothered." Sakura held her breath, waiting for the other's reactions. Meilin was still looking doubtful, and even the other officers in the room weren't sure of her reply. She looked at Eriol and Syaoran, who both had careful expressions on their face,

"Sorry miss but, without any proof we can't be sure. And we can't spare enough officers to survey the mall like this," one of them said. Sakura felt her mouth drop. So what? Were they just going to _wait_ until another boy got kidnapped?

"Eriol?" Sakura looked at him. Eriol was in a tough decision, without the permission of the authorities here, he wasn't in the position to authorize anything,

"We're only here to help them…what to do is up to them," Eriol said carefully. Sakura wanted to cry. She wanted to scream at every single person in the room. Why didn't they trust her? Her previous department had no problem trusting each other's intuition!

"Come on," Syaraon mumbled. Sakura snapped her head to look at him. He grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the station,

"L-Let go!" she pulled her arm out, but Syaoran swiftly grabbed it again, dragging her to her car, "What are you doing!"

"Do you want to save the boy or not?" he snapped turning to look at her. Sakura paused,

"You…you believe me?" she said quietly. Syaoran paused,

"I'm not saying I do…but it makes sense…in some weird, fucked up way."

"Thanks…?"

"Don't until we get the guy. You got the picture Tomoyo sent?" he asked. Sakura nodded pulling the file up on her blackberry. "Good now, let's go shopping."

An hour later, Sakura and Syaoran were no closer than when they had started. Sakura was speed walking through the entire mall, her eyes scanning swiftly through the people. Syaoran walked only a bit behind her, watching her stiff stance. He jolted when his phone rang and he quickly answered it,

"_Why do I see you on camera number…58?"_ came Tomoyo's voice. He mentally cursed himself, he had forgotten that Tomoyo had been sent to the mall.

"Don't tell anyway," he whispered,

"_Are you there with Sakura-chan? Wait, Eriol and the others don't know?"_

"SHHHH Tomoyo, just, keep this to yourself," Syaoran muttered, "She says she's sure he's here today, we've got two boys at risk, we might as well give this a try,"

"_Aw Syao are you listening to your partner?"_ Tomoyo cooed,

"Shut up Daidouji, and keep an eye on us ok?" Syaoran hissed. Tomoyo chirped a preppy "hai" before hanging up, causing Syaoran to shake his head. For his part, he sent a mild glare at the camera to his left, knowing Tomoyo would have seen it. He quickly went to catch up to Sakura,

"You know you have to slow down and not look so tense," he said casually,

"Just because you don't care about the fate of the two little boys doesn't mean I don't," she snapped at him. Syaoran looked at her, why was she so agitated? Was she not the same person that had teased him, and played with his control on her first day at the office?

"You're not going to fool anyone with that look on your face," he snapped. He went and grabbed her hand, feeling it squirm in his, but he held firm, forcefully intertwining their fingers, "If we're going to be undercover, we have to act that way," he felt her hands calm, but she was still stiff as they walked together. As they walked, they felt an additional presence behind them, and Syaoran sent a discreet look behind him, seeing someone suddenly disappear behind a plant,

"Don't look back. Might have a potential behind us," he whispered to Sakura. Sakura nodded, her eyes hardening. Their hands swing stiffly between then, when suddenly, Sakura's thumb caught the hem of his shirt, riding it up slightly.

Both Sakura and Syaoran knew then they had made a grave mistake.

The holster that held Syaoran's gun appeared to the public eye, previously hidden. They both stiffened and looked back at the same time to see the mysterious man who had been following them stop as well, having seen the holster. Three eyes met, and all of a sudden, the man made a mad dash backwards,

"STOP!" Syaoran shouted. Both him and Sakura broke into a run, shouting for people to move out of the way. They split up as the suspect ran to the right, Sakura turning a different direction through a shortcut she knew.

Syaoran chased the man, speeding up trying to catch him. He pulled his phone out and quickly dialed Tomoyo's number,

"_What's going on? I've lost both of you!"_

"We're chasing him. Call Eriol." Syaoran said shortly before hanging up. He huffed as he pushed even harder. Sakura had disappeared god knows where and he didn't know how far he could run before the suspect got away.

The man looked back to see the amber eyed agent chase him, forgetting to look front. Sakura dashed out from a corner, the suspect crashing into her. They both fell onto the floor as the man tried to fight his way out. Sakura grunted, barely dodging the hand that tried to grab at her neck. Her training kicked in as she quickly locked her leg around the man's knee, and flipping him over, pinning him down with all her weight. She pulled out her own gun from her belt, and pointed it at the back of the man,

"One more move and I swear to god I will pull this," Sakura hissed. The man froze beneath her straddling, "That's what I thought," she huffed. She stashed her gun away, and quickly handcuffed him, pulling him up from the ground. By then they had drawn quite a crowd.

"Take him." Sakura muttered, Syaoran took the suspect, "Ask him where he took the boys,"

Mall security and cops were starting to fill in the place, pushing the cops back. They could see Eriol, Meilin and Tomoyo pushing their way through,

"Explain. Now." Eriol demanded.

"It's my fault," Sakura said,

"I took her here. We shouldn't have taken the risk, and Sakura was right." Syaoran interrupted. Eriol looked between the two, Sakura who was staring at Eriol, waiting for judgement, and Syaoran who was holding the man in custody, his amber eyes fiery.

"You both are damn lucky that you were right." Eriol finally said. Sakura and Syaoran let out a sigh, "But we will talk about this when we get back,"

"I need to talk to the press and let them know what to run," Sakura said. Eriol nodded, understanding its priority. She watched as Syaoran pushed the suspect from the crowd, his eyes narrowed in a frightening fury. When he looked back, she looked back at him, mouthing a small thank you. Syaoran smirked,

"You think you know me but you don't," he smirked. He didn't have to say it out loud, because he knew Sakura knew the meaning of his arrogant smile.

* * *

**A/N: I apologize for late updating. I've been super busy with assignments, having just finished two essays and an exam, and am going into my exam month now. Please bear with me.**

**For those who might think I'm making their progress too fast… I apologize, but I'm a big fan of instant chemistry. I don't intend to drag this story on for continuous chapters just to show how they're developing feelings. Instant chemistry is much more dynamic to write…and if the scene at Sakura's office against the table doesn't scream sexual tension, I don't know what does.**

**P.S. A lot of the crime/chasing is inspired from 'Ciminal Minds'. A truly amazing TV series!  
**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Read Me**

* * *

"_**The chasing that happened this afternoon at the mall is related to the recent disappearance and death of two boys, both bodies of which have been found and their families notified. The FBI and the local authorities have been working together and the suspect is now in custody. Please direct any further questions to the number shown on the screen. Neither the police station nor the FBI will be taking further questions until further information has been discovered and released. Thank you."**_

The shouts of reporters demanding answers erupted from the screen as Sakura stepped down from the podium at the police station, her eyes automatically trained to avoid the constant flashes of the cameras, and the shouts of reporters. She squeezed her way out of the crowded room, the silence in the hall way echoing in her ears. Untying her hair, she ruffled her auburn curls as she turned into the office where the rest of the team, and the authorities were at, having just watched her broadcast.

"Are you sure that's all they're going to run tonight?" the chief of police said as the petite young woman appeared. He had a hard time believing someone so small could withhold the wrath that was the freedom of the press.

"They don't have anything else to run," Sakura answer shortly, "They're running what I just released. They'll announce that the FBI have been a part of the case since the beginning, and no one other than the people in this room knows that the suspect was at the mall searching for other targets,"

"Don't people have the right to know?" the chief asked, Sakura's emerald eyes flashed at the chief,

"Do you have kids of your own?" Sakura asked. The chief nodded, "And do you want to know that at any potential time, you and your family are going to be in danger because one out of every 10 people at the mall could be looking to kidnap and harm you or your family?"

The chief paused, stumped at the blunt question. "I get your point,"

"Thank you for letting us use your station," Eriol said after a moment of silence,

"Thanks for coming, we sure as hell wouldn't have caught him if it weren't for those two," the chief gestured to Sakura, who was in the middle of packing her papers, and Syaoran who leaned against the wall without a care in the world.

"We're just glad we were right," Eriol said. They shook hands as the FBI team left the premises. As the team got onto the streets, Meilin paused and turned around,

"You know it would have been nice if you guys actually told us what you were doing," the snappy young woman said, hands on her waist,

"We got the guy didn't we," Syaoran rolled his eyes,

"And you should have told us and not have gone on a limb!" Meilin snapped,

"We didn't have shit to go on, if we hadn't gone, he would've kidnapped another kid, and we would have had to wait for _another_ body to show up and who knows when that would have been?" Syaoran snapped.

"But to base an entire attack on just a theory…what if you were wrong?" Meilin said,

"But we weren't," Sakura interrupted. She faced the other girl, "We could have been, but I wasn't about to risk the chance,"

"Kinomoto-san, you might be new, but even you know we work as a team, and as a team we have to trust each other," Meilin said,

"Like how we trusted Sakura's theory right?" Syaoran snapped sarcastically, "We are supposed to trust each other, and we didn't when she told us her theory. If we trusted it, then we wouldn't be in this mess now would we?"

"H-Hey don't—"

"That's enough," Eriol stepped in, "First, we are not arguing on the streets and second, Syaoran's right. We should be trusting each other in this team, in this profession, even a single strand of mistrust could cost ours, or someone else's life,"

"And besides, it all worked out right?" Tomoyo said brightly, "If it weren't for Sakura-chan, then that disgusting scumbag would still be scouring the malls, and I will _not_ have my malls be tainted by scumbags like him!" the analyst said with a rage worthy of a storm. The group chuckled, forgetting the tension for a moment.

"Alright let's just get back to the office," Eriol sighed. They split up into their separate cars, Meilin and Tomoyo following Eriol, and Sakura following Syaoran back into the cars they came in. Sakura silently climbed into the passenger seat while Syaoran revved the engine, being the first to pull out in the black SUV.

"Thanks," Sakura said quietly. Syaoran glanced at her to acknowledge her,

"For what?"

"…For…you know…"

"I don't know." Syaoran smirked as he kept his eyes forward,

"Don't play with me," Sakura snapped,

"Who says I'm playing? I thought you could read me like a book," he smirked. Sakura glared at him, crossing her arms across her chest,

"You're a real asshole, you know that?"

"I'm the asshole who chased his way down half the mall on a theory you based off on how a psychotic dude dumped a body," Syaoran reminded her. Sakura let out a huff, slumping back and glaring straight ahead,

"I'm also the asshole who defended you,"

Sakura glanced at him, seeing the smug smirk on his face slowly disappear as he drove back to their office. She remembered how he had countered Meilin for her, when she didn't believe in her theory.

"I didn't ask you to…" Sakura said quietly, her pride still holding strong. Syaoran glanced at her, seeing her stubbornly glare at the window. Something about her position reminded him of a five year old child…a five year old child stuck inside the body of a 24 year old vixen.

"You didn't," Syaoran repeated. So why did he?

* * *

"Let's all go out for drinks!" Tomoyo exclaimed as they walked back into their office. Sakura had immediately disappeared into her office outside the bullpen where she had papers to finish regarding the case they had just finished. Meilin dropped her bag off at her desk, slumping down into her chair as Syaoran sat down in the desk across from her,

"Sure," Meilin said, "You up for it Syaoran?"

"Someone has to watch you girls before you go crazy," Syaoran rolled his eyes with a unique confirmation,

"Eriol want to go?" Tomoyo beamed as Eriol came out of his office,

"Sure, one second." Eriol said as he breezed pass them, the group watched as he knocked at Sakura's door, and walked in with the door shut,

"Uh oh…" Tomoyo said, glancing worriedly at the new addition to the team, "Do you think Sakura-chan's going to get into trouble?"

"Probably…not even a week in and she's already broken rules," Meilin muttered, Syaoran's eyes flashed at the younger woman,

"What have you got against her anyway?" Syaoran snapped, Meilin looked up, blinking in surprise. Even Tomoyo turned around looking shocked at his outburst,

"I-I don't have anything against her…" Meilin said

"Then why are you always up her ass about things?"

"W-Well…Syaoran you have to admit that was very impulsive just to leave like that without letting us know. We couldn't even contact the mall in time, none of us knew where you went, for all we knew you could have gotten hurt. If it wasn't for Tomoyo calling us when she lost you guys we wouldn't know where to go."

"But we got the guy didn't we? And it was because of the theory none of us believed. And it wasn't just her, I dragged her to the mall." Syaoran said, he stood up with his hands in his pocket, "You were that impulsive too when you joined the team,"

"Y-Yeah but…"

"But what?" Syaoran raised an eyebrow, "Sakura's not without her merits, just trust her like you trust us."

"Hey! Why are you up all over _my _ass about this? You weren't happy with her either!" Meilin snapped, her fiery temper flaring,

"She's my partner; I have my reputation to keep too,"

"I thought you didn't want a partner!" Meilin shouted. Syaoran's eyes flashed for a second before he turned on his heels. Both girls watched as the amber eyed man walked off, heading towards the closed doors where behind the semi closed blinds, they could see the Sakura and Eriol's silhouettes.

"W-Wow…I've never seen him so defensive before," Tomoyo said in a stunned voice, "And since when did they get so close for him to call her Sakura?"

"I-I…I don't have anything against her!" Meilin stuttered, "Do I?" Tomoyo glanced at her long time friend,

"Well…you _were_ sort of being mean to her…"

"Tomoyo!"

"Hey I'm just saying…you asked," Tomoyo raised her hand up in defense.

..

Sakura looked up when her door opened to reveal Eriol walking in. She straightened her sheets, looking up with a small smile. She wouldn't lie and say she didn't expect him to see her after what she had done earlier. After all, this was his team, and she had just directly disobeyed an order that could have caused a mess between their department and Tokyo's local authorities.

"How's it going?" Eriol asked casually one the door closed. Sakura shrugged,

"I'm getting use to it." She said. She looked at the calm, navy haired man. He just leaned against her bookshelf across from her, a serene look on his face as he observed her office. The little trinkets that Tomoyo had gotten were decorated around the entire room,

"I see Tomoyo got to you," Eriol said, Sakura smiled softly,

"Look Eriol…I'm sorry." Sakura said quietly, making him look at her, "I was out of line today, and I apologize. It's your team, and your call and I shouldn't have acted so…out of lines."

"You think I'm here for an apology?" Eriol asked with an amused smile. Sakura looked at him with a curious frown,

"You're not…?"

"I'm not going to ask you to apologize for believing in what was right," Eriol said, "However…next time you decide to run to a mall like that…I'd like to know that at least one of us knows where you are. We're not always as lucky to have Tomoyo track agents on a camera like that,"

"I know what you mean," Sakura smiled softly,

"Look you're good at what you do. God knows how on earth you can fight off reporters and block news the way you do," Eriol said with an admiring voice, "At the same time, this team is good at what they do…like we trust you decide what is released and what cases we take, please trust the team to have your back,"

"I do,"

"And don't feel the need to prove yourself to us," Eriol finished after Sakura's interruption. Sakura blinked, feeling a light flush on her face, "You're not the only one who can read people,"

"I-"

"Eriol," Syaoran appeared at the door without even a single knock, shocking the two occupants inside.

"Why'd I guess you'd show up at some point," Eriol asked with a knowing smirk. To Sakura, it was a friendly banter between two long time colleagues, to Syaoran, who was use to Eriol's tone and looks glared at his superior,

"Today's accident was my fault, I dragged her to the mall." Syaoran said in a monotone voice, giving a quick glance to Sakura who sat at her desk looking between them, "So if you're going to do that stupid write up it's mine not hers."

"Wow, so gallant of you, I never thought you had it in you," Eriol smirked,

"Shut it Hiirigazawa,"

"Well then, seems like you're off the hook Sakura," Eriol chuckled, sending a mischievous wink at her. Sakura nodded slowly, not sure at what was going on.

"We're all going out for drinks, it'll be nice if you could join us," Eriol smiled as he made his way through the door. Then he paused, "By the way, Sakura, I very much admire your way of showing who's in charge between yours and Syaoran's partnership,"

"U-Uh, excuse me?" Sakura asked slowly. Her mind rewound back to the first day here, and the first time her and Syaoran had been alone. It was only when Syaoran was showing her to her office and she had… Sakura gasped, and her cheeks flared red. Syaoran coughed, glaring at Eriol as if looks could kill. Eriol chuckled in amusement,

"But I will remind you that we have cameras," Eriol finished, nodding at the miniscule, barely existent, but obviously there camera in the corner of Sakura's office. Eriol left the two new partners alone chuckling to himself, and met Tomoyo and Meilin outside who looked at him with a curious stare,

"So, where are we headed?" the supervisor grinned.

…

The team arrived at a nearby bar where they found a table in the middle of the room. Tomoyo promptly set the girls down, and declared that it was the boy's job to get them their requested drink. Sakura found it amusing that no one dared to object to it, as Eriol chuckled in amusement as he pulled a slightly disgruntled Syaoran up,

"What would you lovely ladies like?" Eriol asked smoothly accompanied by a wink. Meilin smirked while Tomoyo giggled,

"I believe it's inappropriate for a superior to buy us drinks," Sakura smirked, Eriol gave a mock crest fallen face, "But we'll keep it under wraps," The girls gave their orders and Eriol and Syaoran quickly disappeared in the crowd,

"We haven't gone out like this in a long time!" Tomoyo squealed, clapping her hands excitedly, Meilin and Sakura chuckled at her enthusiasm, "What, I sit in front of the computer all day, we deserve some fun, plus it's Sakura-chan's first time with us!" Sakura and Meilin glanced at each other, both not knowing what to say. On instincts Sakura tried to read Meilin's body language; sitting cross legged, both her hands on the table but they were clasped together, she wasn't defensive, but she wasn't overtly comfortable either.

"Are you reading me?" Meilin asked, seeing Sakura's emerald eyes on her, Sakura blushed,

"Sorry…it's instinct…"

"What can you tell?" Meilin asked suddenly, Sakura blinked, "From my body language, or whatever you're trying to read."

"I don't think…"

"I want to know," Meilin said seriously. Sakura took a deep breath. Should she lie and say something that would make an easier confrontation? Or should she tell the truth, and hope for the best?

"You're sitting cross legged, so you're comfortable with your surroundings, you have both hand on the table, so you're not defensive either, but your hands are together so you're uncomfortable with something. You keep shuffling in your seat, so I'm guessing you have something on your mind, probably something to do with what I did, or my addition in the team because you keep moving towards my direction…but you don't know how to say it because you haven't voiced it out, and you're the kind of person to voice out your opinion." Sakura finished. She paused and the silence between them was filled by the din of the restaurant,

"Wow…Sakura-chan you're amazing!" Tomoyo breathed. Even Meilin looked a bit shocked, and Sakura wringed her hand. She wanted to have the entire team to accept her addition, and not have some like her and some not. If her experience taught her anything, the smallest crack could destroy everything.

"I'm sorry," Meilin said, "Look it's not that I don't like you…it's just that on the field, it's hard to go off a theory based on people's actions like that. There's a big margin for error and in this field it's not something we can afford…"

"I know what you mean," Sakura said quickly, "I understand how far-fetched it might seem…you're not the first person and definitely won't be the last…but Eriol's right, and we have to trust each other. I trust you to not miss if someone holds me or anyone else in this team hostage…please trust me," Sakura said. Meilin bit her bottom lip,

"Under one condition," the dark haired young woman said, Sakura braced herself, "If you can promise me that you can annoy the _hell_ out of Syaoran at least twice a day." The entire table burst out laughing,

"Oh I can do more than that," Sakura winked,

"And I have the tape to prove it," Tomoyo added mischeviously. Meilin laughed out loud at Sakura's stuttering face. When the guys returned to the table, Meilin, Sakura and Tomoyo were already engrossed in a conversation of their own, barely noticing their return. When they distributed their drinks, Syaoran noticed the glint in Meilin and Sakura's eyes as they raised their glasses to celebrate a successful case. Syaoran slipped into his seat across from Sakura quietly, silently drinking his beer as he watched his new partner assimilate quickly into their group. When their eyes met, Sakura smirked, bit her bottom lip and winked quickly at him.

Syaoran quickly downed the rest of his beet, and quenched the burning he had in his guts.

* * *

When Sakura got back to her apartment later that night, her answering machine had three messages flashing for her attention. The first one had been an advertisement, which she deleted immediately. The second one was from Touya,

_**Kaiiju, stop showing up on TV everywhere, I've got nowhere else to hide. Call Dad.**_

"_Stupid Touya…"_ Sakura thought as she deleted his message as well,

_**Sakura, call me back when you get this please. I saw the news at the mall, please be careful. You weren't the one to catch him were you? Call me back.**_

Sakura's expression softened hearing her dad's voice and the worry in his tone. As she placed her holster and gun on the kitchen table, she flopped onto the couch as she dialed her dad's home number.

"_Sakura?"_

"Hi Dad it's me, I just got home."

"_I saw your press conference. Was everything ok? Are you hurt?" _ Fujitaka's voice sounded frantic,

"Dad relax, I'm fine. If I was hurt you'd think I'd still show up on TV?" Sakura laughed, she lifted her knee where she winced, feeling a sting. Rolling up her pants leg, she realized she had an ugly bruise where she had tackled and fell when she was chasing their suspect, "I only talk to the media remember?"

"_I know, I know, I just get worried. I still don't understand why you requested such a transfer. You weren't required to be out on the field with the rest of the group." _Sakura's eyes flashed momentarily as she stiffened. As much as she loved her dad, she could never bear to go back to her old department. She took deep breaths to calm her heart,

"I just needed a change Dad, don't worry. It's been a long day and I'm exhausted, I'll call you later to set up another breakfast K?" Sakura said quickly. Her dad quickly accepted her excuse, and Sakura hung up. She quickly grabbed a loose camisole and shorts as she headed for her washroom, instinctively taking her gun from the kitchen counter with her to the washroom. Stripping down, she succumbed herself to the power stream of hot water that beat down her back, the steam filling her washroom as she closed her eyes.

She didn't need to think about her last department. Behind her closed eyelids, Li Syaoran's amber eyes flashed in her mind and her lips curved in a smile.

Li Syaoran, she decided, was a much better topic to think about.

* * *

**A/N: Not much of a chapter, I just needed to establish a base with the group, and get a little insight into Sakura's past…not that it did a great job clearing it up. Leave a comment and let me know what you guys think!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Game On**

* * *

A bruise forms through several stages. The injured area would first be an angry red, as a result of the tissue beneath the skin breaking, and blood forming underneath the skin. The body then begins to fix itself, turning the bruise into a deep purple, where certain substances in the body begins to deliver oxygen to the blood trapped beneath the bruised area. Slowly, the bruise would become a moldy yellow, to a light brown, before it disappears completely.

Oh and during that time? It hurts like a bitch. Ask Sakura, she would know.

A few days after the incident at the mall, Sakura had all but begun to curse the human body at its methods of trying to heal itself. If the body instinctively tried to prevent itself from feeling pain, why would the healing process make a person vulnerable to pain? The angry bruise on her knee and the top part of her waist where her suspect had kneed at her had begun to take on a deep purple tinge, and while Sakura knew it was healing, it made the right part of her body extremely sore.

And it was with a small limp and wince that she walked into the office one morning, her pink blouse silhouetting her figure, and her long dress pants lengthening her legs, but they also proved well to hide her healing body.

Syaoran got off the elevator, swiping his hair from his eyes. His sightline landed on a lithe body making her way slowly to the office and he bit back a smirk. Walking up silently behind her, his mind thought up of a small revenge for the first time they had met, and when she had teased him and pulled his strings.

Not to mention that since then he couldn't help but keep thinking back to the tension between them that felt too addicting for his own good.

Coming up behind her, Syaoran placed a hand on her waist, his mouth coming up just by her ear. He had expected her to freeze mid way, but he did not expect her to wince and pull away from him, turning around with a painful expression.

"What the hell—you," Sakura stopped half way, meeting Syaoran's face. Syaoran cocked his head sideways, pursing his lips as he observed her. Her auburn hair was straighten and lying down her back, and her emerald eyes were still the same ones that burned at him during their little teasing game by her desk. The only difference now, was that she seemed to be favoring her left side more than her right.

"If you're trying to read me, it won't work," Sakura huffed, raising an eyebrow,

"Who says I was trying," Syaoran retorted,

"You're not very subtle," Sakura rolled her eyes as she made her way to her office. She winced, trying to get herself to walk properly, very aware that he was still walking behind her, deliberately slowing himself down, and very aware that he was looking at her, observing her every move. It made her shiver both from some unknown anticipation, and from the fact that he would probably figure out she was hurting somewhere.

It was like a predator hunting a prey. He had every move, breath and action under his careful watch. Li Syaoran was no bystander. He was the player, the one in control of what was going on, not a single detail gone unnoticed. Sakura knew that, and she knew how to play it to her advantage. Halfway to her office she paused, and turned around, a crooked smirk on her face and a playful glint in her eyes,

"Got enough to make a strategy yet?" she asked. Syaoran stood a few feet from her, arms crossed in a relaxed state,

"Depends, think you've got me down yet?" he smirked,

"Oh, I _know_ I do." And she flipped around, and disappeared into her office, leaving Syaoran standing at the entrance into the bullpen with a smile playing on his face. This round was a tie. Right now the score stood at Sakura 1, and Syaoran zero, and as Syaoran walked to his desk, and sat onto his chair, his mind was already churning with a mountain full of ideas.

Li Syaoran was a player, and there was no such thing as him losing, at _any_ game. Ever.

…

When Meilin and Tomoyo came around asking if Sakura would like to join them for lunch, Sakura politely declined,

"I think I'm going to head to the training room," Sakura said as she grabbed her pre-prepared gym attire.

"Why?" Tomoyo asked,

"Apparently I can handle the press, but I can't handle hand to hand fighting," Sakura sighed as she joined the girls outside her office, "I don't think my body can handle any more bruising,"

"I'll help out after lunch," Meilin offered,

"Yea, Meilin's one of our top fighters! She beat Syaoran once too," Tomoyo said excitedly,

"And I never let him forget it," Meilin smirked. Sakura laughed, appreciating Meilin's offer. The girls separated at the elevatror, Meilin and Tomoyo going to the lobby while Sakura headed off the fifth floor where the training room was,

"I'll join after," Meilin said as they made their goodbyes. Sakura found herself half an hour later, dressed in a pink and black tank top and match shorts, taking it out on the punching bag in front of her. Her tied up hair swayed against her moist neck, but it remained unnoticed with Sakura completely focused on the offending bag before her. So caught up in her training, she failed to realize an additional presence in the room.

Syaoran entered the room under the impression that no one would be there. He had to admit that he had some…pent up frustration that was in need of releasing. Never would he have thought that a certain media liaison (not to mention his partner) would already be there, skin slick with sweat. He leaned at the entrance of the door, amused at the fact that she was not aware of his presence. Syaoran watched as her chest heaved up and down as she worked her body to the core. Sweat gathered from her forehead, some making its way down her cheeks, and her neck, and disappearing beneath the neckline of her top. Sakura was definitely in good shape; every time she made a higher hit, her tank top rose up, revealing her toned stomach that flexed at every breath. Her cheeks puffed in and out, tinged with a glowing red, and Syaoran couldn't help but notice how she would bite the bottom of her lip every time she was frustrated.

He had spent the better part of the morning trying to get even at the game they were playing, and he had the perfect opportunity.

Taking the fact that she had no idea he was here, he made his way behind her, his trained instincts raising an alarm, warning him that it was dangerous to sneak up behind an active target; but his player side of him rose at the chance. Right as the punching bag swung forward, and as Sakura was getting ready to hit it again, both his hand shot out, stopping the punching bag in its place. Syaoran wasn't wrong about Sakura's agility, because the moment her mind registered a third presence, she had turned around, and Syaoran had stopped her oncoming fist.

"You," Sakura breathed out, her heart pounding from her intensive workout. Syaoran smirked, and Sakura refused to allow her heart to speed up, "What are you doing here?"

"To work out," Syaoran said simply. Sakura pursed her lips, crossing her arms across her chest. Neither was oblivious to the fact that she was trapped between his two arms, and he was leaning obtrusively close.

"There are other bags," Sakura huffed, meeting his eyes dead on. Their eyes challenged each other to a battle of dominance and Syaoran leaned closer and if Sakura could, she would've backed up,

"Why train with a bag, when you can train with an actual person," Syaoran said in a dangerously quiet voice. Sakura glared up at him, trying to read his expression and body language, but damn the man in front of her. His breath brushed against her cheeks, and it was all she could do to close her eyes.

"_No, this is _my_ game,"_ her mind yelled at her. Sakura stared at him, uncrossing her arms and pushed him off her,

"Fine, let's do this," she said. She stretched, pulling her shirt up once more, perfectly aware of the stare that Syaoran was giving her. She turned around and looked over her shoulder, proving herself correct when she watched his eyes do a quick scan from the bottom up, "Ready?" Syaoran locked eyes with her, throwing the towel he had around his neck aside.

"Are _you_?" he challenged. Sakura didn't answer; instead she took the first move. She charged at the man in front of her, her right hand in a fist and she sent it soaring towards his cheek. Syaoran dodged with ease, his left arm shooting up to deflect the oncoming attack, he turned his body so that his right hand came up, and brought it down on Sakura's elbow. Sakura grunted, feeling her arm unwillingly bend, sending her forward. Her shoulder crashed into Syaoran's sturdy one as his face came close to her ears,

"Lesson one: never be the first to attack. It leaves you vulnerable and your opponent enough time to come up with a counter," Syaoran hissed in her ears. He released her hold on her arms, so that Sakura stumbled slightly forward while he turned around, now facing opposite to her. Sakura turned around, her emerald eyes glinting. This time Syaoran made the move first, he moved to grab her shoulder; Sakura ducked under his arm, twisting out of his grip, her previous training surfacing quickly. She grabbed the arm she had just been freed from in an attempt to twist it on his back. Syaoran however took the advantage of her hold on him, and pulled her towards him. Unexpected, Sakura stumbled into his grasp, where he promptly turned her around, so that the arm she had grabbed onto curled around her throat, and pulled her so that her back slammed into his chest.

"Pull your opponent _towards_ you. Give yourself the leverage. Be the unexpected, never do what he expects you to do," Syaoran's lips appeared just by her ear, so that Sakura could feel the warm, moist breath brush the shell of her ears. His lips grazed the back of her ear lobes and Sakura fought the shudder that ran down her body as she breathed heavily. Sakura barely batted an eyelash as she suddenly curled her right foot around his, pulling it so that he involuntarily bent it, losing his balance. His grip on her loosened enough for her to slip out of his hold as he attempted to balance himself. Syaoran's own instincts surfaced as he quickly rolled back onto his feet, bent down as he looked up with an amused smirk on his face at Sakura's triumphant smile.

"What, tired already?" Sakura panted, her cheeks flushed red as she heaved her breath. Her eyes were sparkling with amusement, and stray strands of hair stuck to her face from the sheen of sweat that glittered off the crook of her neck, and made her top stick to her like a second skin. Syaoran unconsciously licked his lips. Without warning, he shot up, reaching Sakura in less than a step. Shocked, Sakura couldn't react until Syaoran pulled her towards him, his right leg wrapping itself around hers, so that she buckled at the weight. He wrapped an arm around her as she crashed onto her back so that he had a free arm to brace himself from the impact, making his arm taking most of the impact with him landing on top of her.

Sakura grunted as her back met the not-too-soft mats that were laid on the floor. She could feel the brush of extra weight on top of her as Syaoran's arm shielded her from most of the impact. She opened her eyes, looking up to see that he was less than an inch above her, their noses touching, reminiscent of their first time at her office. Their harsh breaths mixed together as Sakura fought to keep her heart rate at a level appropriate for the exercise she had been doing, and nothing else. Syaoran's amber eyes bore down at hers as he breathed hardly,

"Never take your guard down. Never be too cocky. You don't' win until you're the only one standing." His voice was now barely a whisper that washed over Sakura's flushed face, sending her whole body heating. Sakura breathed heavily, her eyes locked with his. His arms were still around her waist, and she could feel his muscles flexing as he held her. His knees were spread apart so that he wasn't completely on top of her, situating her body perfectly between them.

"I guess you have experience, being cocky," Sakura shot back, not without her own wit. Syaoran smirked, as his eyes trailed down her eyes, to the gentle slope of her nose, to her pink and plump lips that were exhaling sweet, intoxicating breaths. He bent down, closing what little space they had between them. Sakura could feel his breath on hers, and his body leaning onto hers and her mind clouded with fog, unable to make out a distinguishing thought. His lips were so close…so, so close.

Syaoran's lips barely brushed against hers before Sakura instinctively arched up in an attempt to close the remaining space. Syaoran's lips brushed against hers, before tilting his head, his lips against her ears,

"Game. Set. Point." He whispered harshly against her ears. He emphasized his victory as he kissed her ear lobes, taking it between his teeth and giving it a small bite before blowing over it, and completely got off of her. As he slowly stood up, he looked at Sakura who had quickly regained her senses as she sat half way up, her elbow supporting her top half as her eyes quickly turned into a glare. Her face was still red, her breathing still heavy and her lips forming a pouty frown. Syaoran fought the urge to push her down again and claim those lips.

"Wow, so I guess I didn't have to leave early to help out," said a third voice. Sakura and Syaoran turned their attention to the door, where Meilin stood with an amused smirk on her face,

"If you helped she would be dead in a second," Syaoran brushed off nonchalantly. He grabbed his towel and swung it carelessly over his shoulder, as he took a bottle of water off the shelf and drained half of it. From the corner of his eyes, he watched Meilin help Sakura up, and their eyes met again. He let out a smirk, and returned the wink she had given him the last time they had been out.

_Tied._

"Explain. Now." Meilin smirked as Sakura grabbed her own stuff,

"Nothing to explain," Sakura said, her expression holding the normal stoic face she held in front of the cameras,

"Don't lie! I saw you guys in there, that wasn't just training, that was _hot_ training." Meilin said bluntly, nudging Sakura on her arm. Sakura rolled her eyes,

"It's not Meilin,"

"Then what do you call that sexual tension?" Meilin smirked. Sakura narrowed her eyes as her mind churned,

"Pay back."

* * *

Syaoran settled himself at an empty stool at the bar he was all too familiar with. He signaled for a waiter, the young man bringing him a bottle of beer a few minutes later. His amber eyes wandered through the buzzing room, the dim lights making his eyes learn to accustom to the dark surroundings faster. Drinking his beer, his eyes caught the attention of a young woman also nearby, who also had her sights set on him. Smirking, he raised his bottle to her, to which she replied with her own cocktail in hand.

Syaoran had to hold in a smirk as he stood up casually, walking over to the single young woman. It was like a daily routine, always him luring them in, and never the other way around. It was a game of wits and patience, to stake out and see who had the strongest will, and who had the best skills and strategy. It wasn't the strongest, but the smartest that took the prize home.

"Can I buy you something?" Syaoran slid into the seat smoothly beside her. The dark haired, brown eyed woman looked up through her heavy lashes, a playful smirk playing on her lips as she tapped her red heels against the chair,

"Depends on what you're thinking of," she replied smoothly. Syaoran smirked. The entire day, his mind had been clouded by the session in the workout room. He couldn't forget the electricity that sparked every time him and his new partner pulled apart, the way her emerald eyes would automatically snap back to his, meeting him eye for eye as if daring him to make the next move. He had never had another person (much less a woman) that dared to stare at him right in the eye, daring _him_ of all people.

He had to admit, it was attractive as hell. She was feisty, a firecracker, a bomb ticking, ready to blow, only you had no idea when and where she would. She was like a drug you had to hold onto with the tips of your finger, so close, yet so far. Intoxicating and addictively so, and try as you might to forget it, it just wouldn't leave your fingertips, always ghosting at the corners and edge of your mind, making sure you don't forget.

That was what Kinomoto Sakura was doing to him. And even when Syaoran had the obviously willing and beautiful woman before him, his mind continued to drift back to the quick session, as if it was the only thing playing in his mind.

20 minutes into their meeting, Syaoran had the woman pushed up against the wall at the back of the pub, their tongues mixing the drinks they had been drinking individually. His skillful and experienced mouth made the woman claw at his leather jacket. Syaoran held her still by her waist, briefly flashing back to the firm and supple body he had held previously at the workout.

All of a sudden, he felt something vibrate from his pocket, and he pulled away, the woman beneath him breathing harsh breaths.

"Ignore it," she said breathlessly, tugging his jacket towards her again. Syaoran fished the phone out of his pocket, his eyes catching the number calling in time before she had pushed her lips against his again. Syaoran pulled back again,

"Sorry babe, work calls," he said, pulling away from her. The woman looked at him, her red and kiss bruised lips forming a pout that Syaoran was sure any other guy would have (and probably had) fallen prey to many times before, "That might work with someone else, but not me," Syaoran said as he sent her a wink. He straightened his jacket, before breezily walking out, leaving the young woman there. He had no doubt in his mind that she would not be lingering over his abrupt exit, and as he looked back, he was proven correct when she had already another young male trapped in her spell. Syaoran smirked,

He was definitely not your average male. And all he needed was your not so regular woman.

…

When Syaoran finally showed up at the meeting room, the rest of the team was already there, with their individual files in hand that Sakura had obviously handed out before his arrival. Sakura's eyes looked up, seeing his leather jacket (slightly wrinkled from his previous activity), dark muscle t-shirt underneath and dark washed jeans. She slid the file across the table where he promptly caught it,

"Sorry to interrupt you from your make out session," Sakura said as Syaoran made himself comfortable. Eriol let out a smirk as Syaoran rolled his eyes in response, "We just got this case file in downtown Tokyo." Sakura addressed the team's attention to the screen where a picture of a fancy, high end hotel was displayed.

"Fancy," Meilin commented, "About time where we have cases in places like these, means we can actually stay there,"

"Meilin!" Tomoyo giggled, "Is that the only thing you think of? Where to sleep?" Meilin smirked,

"I think of other things too," the dark haired woman winked.

"Ladies," Eriol rolled his eyes, Sakura let out a quick smile,

"It's nice right? Not so much for these ladies," and Sakura clicked her remote, where three separate pictures showed up of three young woman, all of whom were dressed in ragged clothing, and hair and face dirtied and messed.

"What are three homeless people doing in a place like this?" Syaoran commented, Sakura shook her head,

"They aren't homeless. They're far from, these three victims were each found within the last two weeks at the back of the hotel in their dumpster," Sakura explained, accounting for their dirty appearance,

"Wait, three people in two weeks, how come they're calling us just now?" Eriol's eyes narrowed,

"That's because the hotel thought they were homeless too," Sakura said, "At a hotel like this, you can't expect not to have the less fortunate around the area. There's a high level of rich and well off people going in and out, it screams 'opportunity' for the people on the street,"

"So why is this our case?" Meilin asked,

"It wasn't until the last body was found, that the hotel recognized her to be one of their guests. I had Tomoyo run the names of the other two victims and," Sakura gestured to the computer analyst,

"All three were registered guests at the hotel at-and get this-the pent house suite for the hotel," Tomoyo said, "Those rooms are crazy expensive. To stay there for a week is probably like worth my entire salary or even more. Each victim had rented the room for a _week_ those people are way rich."

"So three elite, obviously wealthy woman are killed, and dumped and made to look like homeless people," Syaoran summed up, looking intently at the pictures,

"They're also people who have been going to parties," Sakura added, "Two of these victims are married, and the third one was engaged,"

"And their husbands?" Eriol asked,

"Had absolutely no idea. The two husbands arrived at the hotel with the two wives, but they were at a business conference when the party occurred. The fiancé of the third victim didn't even know his fiancée was at the hotel, he was back home preparing for the wedding." Sakura answered,

"So, we've got three victims, who are rich, have power, and obviously control over their husbands, at least enough to know their husband or partner's schedule, and go to parties willingly forgetting they're married," Eriol said, "What are we looking at?"

"Jealousy?" Meilin said, "I mean come on, look at these women. They're obviously powerful, and filthy rich. Husband or not, they're still men, who would want to know that a _woman_, much less their wife has more power than they do?"

"Husband's and fiancé's alibis all check out, no points for you," Tomoyo said, clicking away at her laptop,

"Could be just an opportunity. Rich people, poor people outside, they see the chance, they run with the rich things and leave the old crap behind," Syaoran shrugged,

"But to throw them into the dumpster?" Sakura interrupted, "Most homeless people wouldn't dare to even approach someone close enough to kill them. If it was just a robbery, they'd take what they could a leave, let alone have the time to dress them, and throw them into the dumpster. It's almost as if whoever did this is trying to make it seem like these women are equal to trash,"

"So we're looking at someone on the inside then?" Eriol said, "Someone who access to them, someone who knows their every move, and someone who has the time and the privacy to do all that without being seen, or at least to be trusted by these guests,"

"Employees," Syaoran suddenly said, "The hotel employees. Most employees have access cards to all the hotel rooms for easy access for services. These people are rich, they have no reason _not_ to trust someone in uniform, hell all they've ever trusted were people in uniforms. Plus they'll have all the privacy they'd need to do their stuff, any free room would do."

"You have experience with hotels don't you," Tomoyo giggled. Syaoran threw her a burning glare, catching a smirk from Sakura at the corner of his eyes.

"So we need to go undercover then," Eriol announced, drawing the attention of the group before him, "We've got a hotel employee looking for young women victims. We know he's looking for women being unfaithful, and women whom they see think they can get anything they want without their husbands or fiancé as a consequence."

"Oh role playing, I love it!" Tomoyo squealed. Meilin laughed, her ruby eyes glinting at the prospect,

"So how are we dividing the roles?" Meilin asked. Eriol paused before smiling softly. Sakura maybe well in reading people, but Eriol's smile sent a shudder down her spine, and she could see that Syaoran shared the same thoughts.

* * *

**2 hours later**

"Oh _honey_ this is such a beautiful place!" the hotel lobby echoed with the woman's voice. A young woman entered with her arms connected with a slightly taller and bigger build man. Her neck glimmered with a diamond choker as she sauntered in wearing a deep v-necked Burberry dress as if it was nobody's business. She lowered her shades, her emerald eyes taking in her surroundings with excitement, the man beside her chuckled as they walked up to the check in desk.

The woman at the check in desk glanced up at the flashy couple.

"Welcome to the Four Seasons Tokyo," the woman said, "Can I have your name?"

"Hiirigazawa," the man answered, lowering his own glasses to reveal a pair of navy eyes, "We have the pent house suit booked for the week. I'm here for business with my wife,"

"Of course," the lady said, as her eyes scanned the computer screen before her. She looked up at the couple; the gentle looking man had a small smile on his face as he patiently waited for their confirmation. He looked at the young woman next to her, whom one could only guess was his wife, who seemed more excited at the prospect of being here than the husband was. His wife was dressed as if she was about to enter an exclusive party, not a single piece of cloth was without a brand name. Even now, as her husband was getting things settled, the young wife was already looking around, her eyes trailing past a few of the male guests,

"Here you are, and here is your room key," the lady said, handing them to the couple before her,

"Thank you very much Madison," Mr. Hiirigazawa said.

"Oh Eriol this is so exciting!" the wife squealed, and Madison scrunched her nose.

"Excuse my wife, Sakura's very excited," Eriol apologized on her behalf. Madison nodded, still looking at the overly excited wife. Beside her check in line, a tall, lean figured walked up his chocolate brown hair ruffled from the wind outside,

"Under Li," the deep voice said from the single male. The employee quickly confirmed his registration, and he looked sideways and caught an emerald glance. The guy smirked, his amber eyes curving into an amused look. Sakura looked through her shades, and smirked, biting her bottom lip,

"Come on Sakura, let's go to our rooms, I have to prepare for the business proposal tomorrow," Eriol's louder voice interrupted Sakura's stare, and she started,

"Right, you go first, I'm going to explore," Sakura said in a tone that gave no room for argument. Eriol recognized it, and nodded as he took both their suit cases and followed the bell boy that began to show him to their room. Sakura stayed at the desk for a bit as the amber eyed stranger finished checking in,

"Sorry, Mrs. Hiirigazawa, but I need to help other guests," Madison interrupted. Sakura looked over, pulling her shades further down her nose,

"Sorry, what?" Sakura asked, Madison bit the inside of her cheek,

"We have other guests checking in, but if you are interested, the ball room will be opened tomorrow night where all guests are invited to attend as a part of the hotel's welcoming promotion," Madison stated, gesturing to one of the available invites on the table. Sakura looked up, seeing the tall stranger had also heard the news, and took an invite on his own. Sakura quickly took one for herself,

"One for your husband as well Ma'am?" Madison asked,

"No, no, Eriol will be busy tomorrow, just myself," Sakura said as she drifted away. Madison watched as the young woman disappeared in the elevator, and closed her eyes.

If only the day went by faster.

…

30 minutes after their check in, the penthouse suite that Sakura and Eriol had rented (courtesy of the FBI's budget), already looked like a mini command center, with Tomoyo having had her laptops set up in one corner, and Sakura, Eriol, Syaoran and Meilin having had the mirror and the majority of the wall covered with notes and pictures.

"So what have we got?" Eriol asked,

"There's a party tomorrow night," Sakura answered quickly, "All registered guests are allowed to participate. It doesn't seem like there's a strict guide line, invites are all out in the open, and as long as you're a paying guest you're free to walk in and out,"

"Alright so I hacked into the hotel's system, they need better security," Tomoyo announced,

"They just need a spray to keep you away," Syaoran rolled his eyes. Tomoyo stuck her tongue out,

"I'll ignore that because you're the lonely single," Tomoyo smirked, "Anyway, I took a look at access cards, and only managers, and clean-up crews have all access cards."

"Run their names, and do a check," Eriol announced, and Tomoyo quickly nodded, "Syaoran how about you?"

"The girl that checked me in wasn't bad looking," Syaoran smirked, and Sakura aimed a glare at him, "What, jealous are we?" he smirked,

"Over my dead body," Sakura shot back,

"Other than the happy go lucky smiles I got, there's nothing particular. None of the staff seem particular disturbed that they found three bodies dumped in their backyard,"

"I asked around," Meilin said, "They were all instructed to keep things quiet. This is a five star hotel; they've got staff and certain media leverage to keep this quiet,"

"I'll look around, see which reporters and press should be notified after," Sakura nodded.

"Right, tomorrow's the real deal people, the only thing we have to link these victims are the fact that they all had partners, and they all went to the party happening tomorrow," Eriol announced, "I want all of us there, Meilin I want you in the room prepared, Tomoyo every single eye you can get in there, I want it under your control," both girls nodded. Eriol turned to Sakura and Syaoran with a smirk,

"And I hope you two saved enough from your first encounter and your gym encounter to pull this off tomorrow."

* * *

**A/N: I don't really have a set time line, but let's just say Sakura's been with the team long enough for them to joke around. Cases, victims and suspects don't play a major role in this story, they're just here as the story's background, so don't expect complicated cases and shocking revelations about who the real culprits are. The cases presented are purely here only to keep the story line going and the development between Sakura and Syaoran.**

**A reviewer asked me an interesting question: they wondered if there's going to be a third person (either male or female) that would come between Sakura and Syaoran. My answer is a NO. There will NOT be a third person that comes between Sakura and Syaoran. The tension/drama will remain between Sakura and Syaoran (and Sakura's past as it is slowly revealed). I think that it keeps the story more down to earth, and realistic when there isn't a scorning ex or a alternate love interest that keeps going at the main couple. In reality, there is enough drama between the couple themselves and no need for other people to add onto it. And judging from the training scene, there's enough tension as it is ;). **


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Fire**

**A/N: Please read before continuing. You will need to know this to understand this chapter:**

**Bold: Communication via earpiece  
**_**Bold-Italic: flash back  
**_Underlined: conversation via earpiece not from the team__

* * *

The team had divided the room for the night. Seeing as it was the pent house suite, it included a small kitchen, two bathrooms, one guest room with a queen sized bed, a living room with a pull out couch and of course the main bedroom consisting of a comfortable king size bed. Meilin had immediately made dibs on the guest room with the queen sized bed, quickly defending her choice with her 'lady problems' that affectively shut the males up.

"Besides I'm not taking the master room, be happy," she added ever so generously. That had left Sakura, Tomoyo, Eriol and Syaoran with the choice of the master room, and the pull out bed,

"Well obviously Sakura and I should get the master room; after all we are married," Eriol winked jokingly. Syaoran rolled his eyes at his failed attempt at being funny, but at the same time had to calm himself down from chocking his close friend and supervisor. However his joke failed to win over Tomoyo. The small, but obviously big presence declared that she and Sakura would be using the master room, thus leaving the boys with the pull out couch.

"We're girls, we need our room," Tomoyo stated in defense as she started to take her luggage as well as Sakura's through the double doors,

"There's plenty of room in the living room," Syaoran had countered, only to be met with Tomoyo's stern glare that had shut him up.

That was how Syaoran found himself at 3AM that night, uncomfortably situated in a twin sized pull out couch, with his close friend and supervisor, something he had to repeat constantly in his mind so he wouldn't strangle him to death, or at least push him off the bed.

The moment Syaoran finally found sleep, it ended all too soon as he heard the shower running from inside the master room. Groaning, he shuffled around, stuffing his head beneath the poor excuse the hotel called a pillow, attempting to reach unconsciousness again.

"Stop moving," Eriol mumbled from beside him,

"Shut up." Syaoran retorted. If he hadn't had such a need for the pillow to block out the outside noise, he would have used it to hit the man beside him.

"Keep moving and I'll write you up and I'm not joking," Eriol grumbled from his side.

"You can take that write up and shove it up your—" Syaoran's smart reply was interrupted when the master room door opened, and a small silhouette tiptoed out.

Sakura tried to be as quiet as possible, but when she opened the door, she couldn't help but overhear the two grown male's not quite coherent conversation from the pull out couch. Eriol had sprawled out on his stomach from his side, dangerously treading over to Syaoran's side, trying to get his sleep. Syaoran, on the other hand had been on his back, until he had noticed her entrance. Syaoran opened an eye, seeing Sakura walk out. Her long auburn hair looked wet and curled, meaning she had been the one to have taken the shower. She had obviously did not think anyone would be awake at this time, seeing as she had chosen to walk out in the hotel's white bathrobe that fell just before her knees, her slender legs walking barefoot across the carpet as quiet as possible.

"Sorry, I didn't think anyone was awake," Sakura whispered in a hush. Syaoran didn't speak, his eyes unwittingly trailing the subtle shape the bathrobe had created. Sakura's cheeks were still red, as if to give evidence to the warm shower she had just come out of, and the neckline of her robe dipped right beneath her collarbone, giving Syaoran a view of her baby white skin tinged with the red from the blood running beneath.

"_Wake up! Wake up, wake up!"_ his mind scolded him. Try as he might, their training session was still fresh in his mind. Her gym attire had, quite frankly, had been more revealing than the sight the bathrobe was giving, but something about the fact that she was coming out in just the bathrobe, gave his mind a tug. There was a sort of…innocence that came from the idea that she had just came out of the shower. An innocent vixen…out to tease and kill him all at once.

"You should have come out earlier if it shut him up this easily," Eriol's voice grumbled from inside the pillow, snapping Syaoran from his train of thought. The second Syaoran made a move to get out of the bed, Eriol let out a mumbled shout of triumph, "_Finally_, get out!" Syaoran got out, but not before he finally took his pillow and crashed it with Eriol's head. Too grateful to have the small bed to himself, Eriol didn't even bother making a sound of protest, most likely having successfully entered unconsciousness.

Sakura let out a small smile at the 'warm' scene before her as she made her way to the small kitchen. Humming to herself, she busied herself with opening the drawers and cupboards as silently as possible.

"What are you looking for?" Syaoran mumbled after he was so ungraciously kicked out of bed. Sakura took a second to make her own observation at the 'just woken up' Li Syaoran. His chocolate brown hair was even messier than it normally was. Her disheveled partner walked up to her wearing a loose wife beater, paired with a pair of oh so comfortable green cotton pants, his own bare feet padding across the floor. Sakura blinked, snapping herself out of her own daze as she cleared her throat; no, she did _not_ just think he looked incredibly desirable with his bed head and just woken up daze in his eyes.

"The coffee maker; I figured we could all use some," Sakura said in the most normal voice she could muster in the early morning. Syaoran leaned against the counter, a small smirk on his face as he watched her scurry around in her little white robe. He kept a chuckle in when she did a little jump, with a bright smile when she found the coffee beans and cups. For a minute, the pair were silent in the kitchen save for Eriol's breathing on the couch, and it wasn't until Sakura grunted that Syaoran snapped out of his little day dream to realize that Sakura was currently on her toes, trying to reach the pot the hotel had so kindly placed at the top most shelf and out of her reach.

Let Syaoran make this clear right now, that despite his cool, and undoubtedly good looks, he was, in the end, a human, red blooded male. Make that a human, red blooded male that had just woken up from sharing a twin sized bed with his supervisor for the majority of the night. The sight of Sakura reaching up, her white robe riding up as she tried her best, revealing more of her smooth, mile long legs made Syaoran stop in his tracks. It must be the early morning wake up, he decided, that was making his mind work slower than usual as his gaze trailed slowly from the bottom up. In fact, he completely blamed it on the fact that he had not gotten enough sleep, as his body started moving forward without having asked his brain for permission, and he was not aware of what he had done, until he was almost right behind her, so close so that when Sakura turned around with the intention to ask for help, the breath she had taken had gotten stuck in her throat as she was made aware of their close proximity, and that all that stood between them was, quite literally, a thin, hotel bath robe.

"Need some help?" Syaoran asked quietly, his voice rumbling from deep within his chest. Sakura swallowed lightly, nodding. Syaoran reached up, raising himself higher than Sakura had been, so that Sakura was now facing his diaphragm. She noticed it flex suddenly, as if Syaoran had taken a sharp intake of breath as he came back down with the coffee pot. She couldn't help but close her eyes slightly, smelling the scent of crisp sandalwood. As Syaoran levelled back with her, he took another breath, taking in the scent of cherry blossom and apples. It was most definitely too early in the morning.

"Here."

"Thanks."

Silence.

"You shouldn't walk around like that," Syaoran said in a low tone as he matched her eyes with his. He was fully aware that he had backed her into a corner, having placed the coffee pot down onto the counter top so that she was trapped between his body and arms.

"Why not?"

"You don't know who could be watching," Syaoran was definitely aware of the fact that Eriol was also on the couch, and had the same sightline as Syaoran had.

"Who's going to watch?" Sakura challenged with a small smirk playing on her face. Syaoran looked at her, recognizing the expression she had on; it was the one she only had for him, the one she used to challenge him beyond belief, to test and pull at his every nerve and string, to push him, and _dare_ him.

"You shouldn't tempt people like that," his eyes left a blazing trail from her eyes to her lips.

"Who's going to be tempted?" she repeated in a lighter whisper, in nothing but a breath. In a second Syaoran had swooped down, and closed what little distance there was between their lips. Sakura barely had time to utter an objection. This was their game, and right now Syaoran held the controls. He could feel one of Sakura's small hands pound at his chest when he didn't back away, and felt it curl into a fist, grabbing a fistful of his shirt in the process. He kept his eyes opened, boring it into hers, which were wide with surprise. He let out an inward smirk as he sucked her bottom lip into his, and bit down on it.

Sakura's hand tightened on his shirt as her eyes widened even more feeling the bite. As if he had just finished marking his victory, he released her lips from his, and placed his lips next to her ears,

"Don't tempt me." He breathed, "Looks like I'm in the lead now."

As if nothing had happened he backed away, a smug smirk on his face as he grabbed the coffee pot he had placed down, and plugged it into the plug, his back facing Sakura, who remained in her corner. She slowly ran her tongue over the place where he had bit her, and she could feel the small mark that he left on her.

"Hey, is that coffee?" Tomoyo came through the master door, already dressed in a comfortable v-neck sweater and dress pants. Syaoran shrugged in answer as Tomoyo came nearer, "The bathroom's yours now, you might want to change—" Tomoyo stopped. Her amethyst eyes scrutinized Sakura's still form as she stalked forward,

"S-Something wrong?" Sakura asked slowly,

"Something happened," Tomoyo said suspiciously as she drew nearer to Sakura's trapped form. Sakura felt like an animal trapped with nowhere to run. Syaoran's body trap had already sent her heart humming, only now, Tomoyo's stalking form scared Sakura beyond belief, and she quickly ducked as she slipped through between Tomoyo and the counter,

"I'm going to get changed," Sakura said quickly as she dashed into the room. Tomoyo's eyes stealthily followed Sakura's disappearing form, and quickly flew towards Syaoran's form.

"What?" Syaoran asked carelessly

"I'm watching you," Tomoyo said in a low, threatening voice as she slowly walked away, her eyes continuously trained on Syaoran, and the elder man couldn't help but shiver slightly at the petite but threatening analyst,

"_Fucking creepy…"_

xxx

Sakura splashed water onto her face as she looked up, her cheeks less flushed than before. Sticking out her bottom lip, she could see the darker red area where Syaoran's teeth had nipped at her and she narrowed her eyes.

This game she had started was starting to tread on dangerous grounds, grounds which she had worked hard to build, and lock up so that nothing could get to it. She had been top of her class in psychology, and when she graduated from the academy, she, among all the other cadets training with her, had been requested to work within the government shortly after graduation. She was among the best, trained to view things with an inquisitive eye, to take in even the most minor details, and to build a face and a wall so solid, so strong, so impenetrable that even the hundreds of cameras she faced on a daily basis, the thousands of blood hounding reporters she talked to, and the word's sickest, most dirtiest scumbags would not be able to even make the smallest hair crack.

She was trained such so that she could blatantly lie in front of her family without batting an eyelash.

Never had her defenses fell, and Sakura swore she would never let it fall again, and that she would never allow anyone else to hold the upper hand against her.

_Don't tempt me._

Sakura smirked. This was her game. And Li Syaoran had no idea what he was getting himself into.

xxx

Sakura and Eriol looked at each other with a confirming nod as the elevator door slid opened, the din of arriving and leaving guests buzzing softly around their ears. Sakura shifted slightly, brushing her hair behind her ears, and simultaneously adjusting the miniscule earpiece she had in her ears.

"_**We have to narrow down the suspect pool, at this rate we're looking at the entire hotel," Meilin said as the team gathered together that morning. Tomoyo had her multiple laptops out as she typed diligently, hacking, again, into the hotel's system with ease.**_

"_**So I went through the hotel's list of employees, and we can pretty much tick off the cooks, chefs, engineers, bell boys and door persons," Tomoyo announced, "They're pretty much stuck in one area of the hotel, and none of them even remotely have access to a piece of the hotel card, let alone an access pass to pent house suites,"**_

"_**They might not be hiding in the suites though," Meilin said, "Right now the suites are all rented out, all they need are passes to regular rooms,"**_

"_**Won't they need to know which rooms are taken though?" Sakura asked, "I mean, you can't really grab a rich woman, and drag her to a room hoping there isn't another couple there,"**_

"_**Tomoyo cross reference the remaining list with people who also have access to the hotel's booking system," Eriol instructed,**_

"_**You're still looking at 50 odd employees, at least," Tomoyo said,**_

"_**Still too much. We won't have time to track them all," Syaoran said from his space against the wall,**_

"_**Then we'll narrow it," Sakura said, "The target's are rich, married women. Look around, the rich people around here are all but subtle, they'll be loud, attention drawing, they're not people who will be easily missed by staff. Eriol and I will have to parade around the lobby and the hotel area, Tomoyo can get eyes into the lobby, and track every employee in the room at our entrance. That way we can cross off potentials."**_

_**Sakura didn't notice the way Syaoran's eyes flickered at the suggestion of literally pinning a target onto herself.**_

"**Look for authority figures; managers, key holders, people who guests automatically trust and have ultimate access to the hotels,"** Syaoran's voice rang through their ear piece. Eriol held in a soft chuckle as Sakura rolled her eyes,

"I know my job, even if my beautiful 'wife' is distracting me," Eriol teased. He winced feeling Sakura squeeze extra hard around his hand, her eyes and smile never faltering. She was dressed, once again, in an equally expensive and brand named piece, only this time, her v-neck dipped even lower, daringly ending just above her naval. A long, diamond chocker glistened around her neck, as her dress ended just above her knees, and her sparkly heels clicked around the lobby floor.

"Oh darling you're just _so_ funny," Sakura's airy laugh echoed, drawing some attention in the lobby. "Tomoyo?" Sakura repeated under her breath,

"**One step ahead of you," **Tomoyo's voice replaced Syaoran's in her ear. From the corner of her eyes, Sakura could see the security camera swivel in several directions**, "I've got the opening manager on your left, the girl who checked you and Eriol in last night at the front desk, three bell boys, two concierge, oh, I've got one more manager right in front of you,"**

A tall, slim woman with slick black hair walked towards them with a trademark welcoming smile,

"Welcome to the Four Seasons Tokyo, I hope you're enjoying your stay," the lady said,

"It's lovely thank you. The pent house suite is absolutely gorgeous," Eriol said charmingly. Neither agent missed the way the manager in front of them seemed to have registered which room they had rented,

"Wonderful, my name is Yuki, if you have _any_ problems at all feel free to let me know personally," Yuki said with a big smile, "Might I suggest the party happening tonight? It's open to all hotel occupants,", Yuki led the couple to the front desk where she gestured towards the display of open invitations that Madison (Who had straightened up and began checking out another guest at the sight of her manager and guests) had gestured to the night before.

"Oh I heard about that, I am attending for sure, but my husband will be away at a meeting unfortunately," Sakura sighed, "But I guess I'll keep myself busy with other guests," the auburn haired agent laughed, winking as if conspiring with the manager. Yuki laughed lightly; Sakura's trained ears picked up the false falsetto in her tone.

"_**We should cross reference all the people at the lobby with the people that were there when we checked in," Eriol announced after he and Sakura entered the suite, finishing their parade around the lobby. Sakura had quickly ducked into the master room, primarily to get out of the poor excuse of a dress that thin strip of clothing called itself, as well as to properly stow away the collection of jewels the FBI had rented under their name for this mission.**_

"_**And we need to be able to cross reference that list, with the employees we're able to spot at the party," Sakura added as she came out a few minutes later, back in her usual attire of dress pants and v-neck sweater. **_

"_**That's a lot of people," Tomoyo frowned, "I won't be able to keep an eye on everything and everyone by myself, and I'll need access into the hotel's security if I want to get everything in my control,"**_

"_**I'll stay and help," Eriol said, "I can't be around or be seen around the hotel. I'll call security and give them the heads up, that leaves Meilin, to be in the ballroom undercover to keep an eye on Sakura and Syaoran,"**_

"_**So how are we pulling this off?" Syaoran crossed his arms. Tomoyo's eyes glinted in a way that unsettled the rest of the team, and much more so for Sakura and Syaoran as the analyst's eyes landed on them with a glint that even the worst criminals couldn't pull off.**_

As the evening drew to a close, Sakura took a deep breath as she slowly stepped out of the elevator, this time by herself. She adjusted the thin slip of clothing she had on, and suddenly wished she was still wearing the dress she had on earlier. Compared to this one, the morning dress seemed like a dress for a nun.

Tomoyo had taken the liberty to place herself in charge of the evening wear for the particular event. Having pushed Sakura into the master room the moment the plan was set, Tomoyo had slipped what Sakura swore was something made for a toddler…a toddler with a very open minded mother. Tugging on the hem one last time, Sakura stepped out, feeling the heat of the hotel lights glare down on her shoulders that were left bare from her halter top. The dress wrapped around her body, leaving her shoulder and collar bone bare, the sweetheart neckline accentuating the cleavage the dress had made for her. The bodice hugged against her waist, and outlined the dip, to the rise of her hip, the end of the dress softly flaring out until it ended a few inches above her knees. Tomoyo had also taken the pleasure to place her in death trap heels that glittered with her every step, accenting her long, toned legs as she made her way to the opened ballroom.

Sakura was most definitely aware of the less than subtle stares she was getting from the male population.

"_**When you walk in, make sure you take a good look around you, try to tick off every employee by the door and in the room. All you are to do is to briefly survey the room, nothing too detailed otherwise you'd look out of place,"**_

"Welcome Mrs Hiirigazawa," Madison, the girl that had checked them in the night before, greeted with a polite smile, her young eyes briefly grazing over Sakura's revealing yet extravagant outfit. Sakura smiled softly, nodding her head as she breezed in without a word,

"Madison, she was at the check in table," Sakura muttered softly to the miniature microphone hidden beneath the dip of her halter. Sakura's politely took a cup of champagne floating around from various waiters in the room, sipping softly as she looked around, as if interested in her surroundings, "Yuki, the manager this morning, she's headed this way," Sakura mumbled with the sparkling drink still held up to her mouth.

"**I've checked off all the waiters, none of them were in the lobby when you and Eriol were this morning," **Tomoyo reported from the earpiece

"**Yuki's a suspect,"** Eriol's voice cut in. Sakura cleared her throat,

"Mrs Hiirigazawa, correct?" Yuki beamed, "I'm glad to see you made it…alone I see?"

"Well you know, husbands and business," Sakura laughed airily, "Quite the party,"

"Well just our way to let our guests enjoy themselves. Will you be staying long?" Yuki asked curiously. Sakura's mind raised a flag at the odd question, and Sakura smiled,

"I might just take a look around actually…it's not often a woman like myself can have a night of fun," Sakura winked. Yuki let out the same falsetto laugh from earlier that morning.

"_**The moment Sakura encounters a potential, that's when you strike," Eriol looked at Syaoran, "We need to make sure people see you and Sakura together, more specifically, they have to see Sakura come up to you. If the murderer is an employee, and is at the party, they'll definitely notice a married woman acting not so married with a stranger,"**_

Yuki paused at that moment, distracted by something behind Sakura. Turning around, Sakura's eyes widened, and a smirk drifted playfully onto her lips, as a tall, dark, and clearly handsome man walked into the room, instantly charging the static in the air. Madison, who stood beside him, could only look at him, and at her manager as the tall stranger lowered his dark shades, his blazing amber eyes swiping over the crowd like a sea of burning fire that released from him, and into the crowd.

Syaoran held in a chuckle as he walked in like he owned the place, exuding waves of sheer confidence and sexuality. He had women, married or not, in hushed, excited whispers, and had the men, working or not, glaring at his every step with envy. Sakura hummed to herself, taking another sip of champagne, her eyes trailing and catching his every move. His eyes drifted, and landed on hers, their sight connecting instantly. Sakura licked her lips,

"Excuse me," Sakura muttered absentmindedly, leaving the front door and the manager as she sashayed her way to him, her short dress glittering under the dim lights, and its hem swaying side to side, barely brushing against the underside of her legs. Even in heels, Sakura only stood up to his nose, but she could fully smell the subtle but alluring scent of cologne, carefully applied as to draw his prey in, close enough for him to catch them with his bare hands.

"Hi," Sakura looked up from under her eyelashes, a playful smile on her lips,

"Hi back," Syaoran's deep rumbling voice chilled Sakura to the core, and heated up all at once feeling his eyes slowly make its way down her body, analyzing every single thread, stitch, bead and material of her dress.

"_**Meilin will be in the room as one of the waiters," Eriol gestured to the dark haired young woman who sat with a mischevious smile on her face, "That way she'll be able to walk around the floor without trouble, and keep an eye on the two of you at the same time,"**_

"_**They've got to stand out though," Meilin interrupted, "Sakura's not the only rich, married and solo wife in that room, there's got to be hundreds."**_

"_**That's where you come in," Eriol smirked, "There's a dance floor right in the middle of the room. In parties like these, there aren't going to be a lot of dancers, regardless of them being alone, they're still married, and definitely high in status. Our victims were both young, and married, and without the watchful eye of their husbands. They would have been one to have taken to the dance floor with no reservation, and that is that we're going to do."**_

"More drinks?"

Sakura and Syaoran turned their attention to the third person, the dark haired young waitress walking up with two glasses on the tray. Her ruby eyes glistened at the sight of the couple,

"I've got one," Sakura said,

"Scared?" Syaoran teased,

"You mean you?" Sakura shot back. The couple smirked at each other as the music began booming from the speakers. The din of the crowd drowned beneath the pumping of the bass and the singer's harsh voice,

"Are you sure you won't need one ma'am? Dancing can make a person quite thirsty," the dark haired waitress said with a small smirk,

"Who said anything about dancing…Meilin," Syaoran's eyes drifted to the name tag on the waitress's shirt,

"Scared?" Sakura challenged with a seductive grin. Sakura placed her glass of champagne back onto Meilin's tray and sauntered backwards onto the dance floor, her eyes never leaving him. Syaoran's smirk flew smoothly onto his face as he casually shrugged off his leather jacket, his dark v-necked muscle shirt fluttering from the movement. He passed the coat over to Meilin, who had no choice but to take it. Syaoran held a smirk in as Meilin sent a disgruntled look at him before she walked away, handing the tray over to a nearby waitress.

"_**Meilin will be paying attention to any particular employee that seem too into watching Sakura and Syaoran," Eriol explained, "The murderer would most likely not be on the dance floor, they'll be watching and careful, to get the perfect opportunity to get the woman alone,"**_

"_**You two have to be convincing then," Tomoyo smirked. Sakura and Syaoran's eyes met.**_

Syaoran sauntered up to Sakura, who stood in the middle of the near empty dance floor, a hand on her petite waist and her head cocked to the side, a smirk playing on her face as her eyes dared him to come closer. Syaoran walked right up to her, his hand covering the one she held on her waist, subsequently pulling her towards him, the feel of the dress's material brushing against his shirt,

"You sure you can handle this?" he whispered harshly, Sakura's eyes snapped up,

"My game, my rules," she shot back. Syaoran's eyes caught sight of Yuki, the manager, who had been standing at the main entrance in front of Madison. The back of his neck tingled, his natural and toned instincts telling him that someone was watching them,

"Got a potential observer," Syaoran muttered, both to the woman in his hold, and to the miniature microphone clipped to the underside of his shirt. From the corner of his eye, he could see Meilin's white dress shirt disappear into the crowds of vibrant gowns and suits, "Ready?"

Instead of answering him, Sakura smirked, and grabbed both his hands and pulled them around her waist. Syaoran instinctively tightened around her, their bodies automatically pushed up against one another, meshing together as the beat of the music pumped through the room and through their ears. Sakura bit the bottom of her lip, looking up impishly as her hands landed with a feather light touch onto his chest. She could feel his soft heart pounding beneath her palm.

"That's all you got?" Syaoran smirked; Sakura looked up, and winked at him. Before Syaoran could make sense of what the wink had meant, Sakura leaned down, placing her head into the crook of his neck and shoulder. Syaoran's grip tightened on her swaying hips, his eyes narrowing as a soft grunt and growl unwittingly escape his lips, Sakura's teeth nipping at his skin. Sakura pulled back in seconds, her face flushed and her smile triumphant as she subtly licked her lips, the color matching to the light smudge Syaoran now bore on his neck,

"Don't tempt me," Sakura repeated the same words Syaoran had said to her from the beginning of the day, pulling herself from his grip and turning around, slowly walking away from him, her hips swaying temptingly. She looked back over her shoulder with a playful smile, her emerald eyes glittering as she observed Syaoran's change in body structure. His breathing was no longer leveled, and she could see the muscles twitching in his jaws as his eyes followed her every movement. The moment she looked back the other way, her ears picked up two swift steps before a hand grabbed her hips in a near painful grasp and pulled her harshly into them. Her back hit squarely against his chest, two strong arms tying themselves around her as a pair of lips attached themselves onto her bottom jaw,

"I warned you," Syaoran said in an almost dangerous whisper, his lips working his way backwards on her jaw, and nipping at hear earlobes. Syaoran repaid her with a bite of his own, biting harder than needed on her neck, eliciting a small groan from Sakura. Sakura pushed herself back against him, grinding against him with the beat of the music, feeling her effect on him as she felt his lips suddenly pause from their activity, and feeling a sharp breath of air escaping his lips.

Syaoran's right hand trailed down the side of her waist, brushing down her thighs, gripping the thin material of the bottom part of her dress. His hand paused as he felt the hint of a holster strapped to the top of her thigh; he moved his hands towards the front of her thigh, and dangerously slipped it around to brush against her inner right thigh, and couldn't help but smirk when he felt both the hint of the hidden gun, and Sakura's muscle tensing, then shivering against him at his light touch.

The flow of the music pumped through their bodies, mixing with the adrenaline that was set off from the feel of their bodies together. Syaoran kept Sakura's back against him, his left arm holding her securely around her waist, feeling the heavy raise and fall of her breathing, each breath moving her against him. His right hand explored the side of her thigh, dangerously bordering the hem of her dress where the pads of his fingers ghosted over the uncovered skin, goose bumps erupting all over her body.

Sakura herself was not one to be played; her right hand rose and covered the hand around her waist, dragging her fingernails across his bare arms, not hard enough to scratch, but enough to leave a light red line, and ignite every nerve in Syaoran's body. Her hand made their way across the length of his arm, before she grabbed it, and twisted it suddenly, relinquishing his grip on her and breaking out of his hold. Syaoran glared at her, seeing her smirk as she began to walk away. Syaoran's arm flew out, grabbing her wrist as he pulled her back-Sakura turning around quickly to avoid tripping on her heels so that she crashed head on with his chest, now face to face with him.

She looked up the same time Syaoran looked down, his amber eyes blazing with a fire he tried to hold in. Sakura's emerald eyes reminded him of a spring day's grass, the fire in his eyes yearning to burn into her. The game between them had heated up to a point where every time their body touched, it smoldered, burning their skins. Sakura daringly pushed up to him, pressing her body flat against his, feeling the ripple of his stomach against her own, exchanging her heat for his. She shifted and gasped lightly when she felt his leg slip in between hers, angling it so that the moment she jerked at the sudden intrusion, she brushed against the top of his knee. She bit her lip, refusing to let out any other noise that would signify her surrender, and instead, she played with the card she was dealt with, and rested her entire weight on the leg that stayed between her, simultaneously moving to the music.

For a second the mission was forgotten. For a second, all that was there was his burning eyes on hers, and the rush of adrenaline and refusal to give in to the other.

"**I've lost Meilin…a-and the manager!"** Tomoyo's urgent voice broke the heated atmosphere between them as they both scrambled to straighten up. There was no time for awkwardness as Syaoran's eyes narrowed in concentration,

"What the hell do you mean?" Syaoran snapped harshly,

"**What the hell do you mean what I mean?"** Tomoyo shrieked, **"What part of that confused you?"**

"**Syaoran find her. Sakura stay, don't go anywhere, we'll contact you." **Eriol's voice broke in and interrupted Tomoyo's shrill scolding. The tone in his voice bore no room for argument.

Syaoran was already moving before Eriol had finished his order. Sakura followed him, pushing her way through the crowd she hadn't noticed during their time on the dance floor. So intent on trying to find her teammate, she nearly crashed into Syaoran-again-when he stopped suddenly. He had turned around, and his eyes were focused on hers,

"You're staying," he said,

"Wrong again," she shot back. Syaoran's lips pursed in a tight line as his jaws tightened,

"You. Are. Staying." He said coldly, "We've already lost one, I don't need to worry about another, now stay here." He turned around, disappearing out the empty entrance. Sakura stayed at her spot, staring at the area Syaoran had occupied just seconds ago. Her insides were conflicted; a part of her told her she should go, and help her team, but her training told her to obey protocol and the orders of her superior. She didn't care how weird it looked, for her to be standing alone at the entrance with the music booming behind her, no longer the thing that drove her adrenaline and movements.

"_If I don't hear anything I'm going…"_ Sakura thought to herself. A minute later, she was still standing at the door, listening in on what Eriol and Tomoyo were reporting as Syaoran searched for Meilin. Half her mind felt that if she waited long enough, she could will for someone from her team to appear. Suddenly, the earpiece in her ear emitted a strong feedback, making her jump. She ripped the tiny device from her ear, wincing when she felt her ear drums ringing. She was about to put it back in, and leave to search for her team when someone patted her on the shoulder, slightly shocking her and dropped the ear piece.

Xxx

"Where did you last see her?" Syaoran puffed as he dashed down across the lobby of the hotel, wildly searching, his eyes combing every inch of the coming and leaving of the guests,

"**She was following the manager, they left the ball room, I caught her at the lobby camera before I lost her when a stupid cleaning lady blocked me!" **Tomoyo said shrilly. Syaoran could hear the faint sound of typing as the young analyst typed frantically on her laptop, desperate to search for her friend

"Are we thinking it's the manager?" Syaoran asked,

"**She has the biggest possibility; full access to rooms, definitely trusted by guests, and she was there for both my and Sakura's appearance, and at the dance floor. She knew I would be away on 'business' and knew Sakura was 'married'"** Eriol said quickly. Syaoran didn't reply to acknowledgement, but knew everything added up

"It doesn't make sense. This is the wrong victim type, Meilin was dressed as a waitress, and definitely never showed up at the entrance or in front of the manager," Syaoran muttered.

"**I don't give a f—wait!—I think I got her, first floor, in the kitchens,"** Tomoyo's voice suddenly said. Syaoran wasted no more time, screeching to a halting stop as he turned around, heading to the back of the hotel. Puffing, he saw the sign that said "Employees Only" and crashed through it, ignoring the shouts and screams of shock, and people yelling at him that he had no right to be here. He reached the kitchen, seeing waiters and cooks going about their business, but paid no mind, intent on finding the black haired agent that remained to be unfound.

Suddenly, a body flew out from a corner, and Syaoran crashed into them, unable to fully stop. The ear piece in his ears shrieked with feedback from being too close with a second piece under the same frequency.

"Meilin!" Syaoran grunted, picking himself off the floor as he untangled himself from her. Meilin winced, picking herself up as she yanked her own ear piece out,

"That hurts!" She whined,

"What the fuck were you doing?" Syaoran shouted, "Where the hell were you?"

"The manager tried to leave so I followed her! She cornered me at the kitchen and asked me who I was!" Meilin shot back

"And you couldn't give a single damn second to tell us where you were?" Syaoran retorted. Meilin glared up at him as she dug into her pocket and pulled out what looked like a bent microphone.

"I was trying to follow her. You try getting out of the damned crowd, some guy elbowed me on my way out," Meilin said, "I couldn't contact any of you…and besides…it didn't seem like you wanted to be interrupted by the looks on the dance floor with Sakura…" the agent smirked. Syaoran glared at her, preparing a comeback when he froze,

"Sakura—I left her at the ball room by herself," Syaoran said as he made his way back to the room, "Sakura we found her,"

…

"Hey I said we found her." Syaoran repeated. He paused."Tomoyo, Eriol can you hear me?"

"**Yea what's wrong?"**

"Tomoyo, check the ball room cameras, is Sakura in there?" Syaoran asked sharply. Meilin stopped in her tracks, her eyes widening,"Tomoyo!"

"**I-I'm checking I—I can't find her!"**

"What do you mean you can't find her?" Syaoran shouted, drawing some attention from the staff in the room,

"**You ask me that one more time, I swear to god Li Syaoran I will murder you and erase your very existence from the digital world! She's not there!"**

"Sakura? Sakura damn it answer me!" Syaoran shouted into his microphone. All he got for a reply was a buzzing din, and the sound of Eriol and Tomoyo's tense breathing on the other side.

"Fuck!" Syaoran set out at a sprint, Meilin following close behind him.

Xx

Sakura grunted as she felt the sharp object poking at her back, the thin fabric of her dress doing no help in protecting her skin from the sharp knife that kept her moving. As they made their way towards the room, Sakura tried to think of ways to escape, but with the knife poking at her spine, she knew whatever she did would be detrimental. They stopped at the door of the pent house suite, and with the knife still trained on her, her captor reached around, and produced an access key that opened the door in front of them. Try as she might, Sakura knew being in there was going to be no help. Eriol and Tomoyo had both moved everything they had to the hotel's security center, seeing as the room would be opened freely by cleaners to clean, and they didn't need them to walk in to multiple computers and pictures of dead bodies on the wall. Thus Sakura walked into the dimly lit room, eerily quiet as the door was closed behind her. Her mind was running at top speed, trying to analyze her surroundings. The knife pointing at her back severely limited her actions, she wouldn't be able to make a single move without having the sharp object being pushed into her. The gun that suddenly felt heavy against her thigh remained there, and until she was no longer under knife point, it would also remain useless.

Her captor grabbed Sakura's arm, turning her around, angling the knife so that it hovered dangerously close to Sakura's navel. Sakura grunted as her captor pushed her down onto the couch behind her, acting fast so that the knife would not stray far.

"Hands out."

Sakura slowly raised her hand, and watched as they were tied by a piece of cloth her captor had ripped from the couch she was sitting on. As she tried to get her bearings, her mind floated, wondering if they had found Meilin yet…wondering if her team knew that they were chasing the wrong person.

"Why are you doing this," Sakura said softly.

If only she had her ear piece still…she would be able to hear. Then she froze. She didn't have her ear piece, but she did have her microphone.

Xx

Syaoran ran into the ball room entrance; the party was continuing as planned, not a single person having noticed a certain woman was missing from the crowds. Meilin arrived seconds later, her own eyes frantically searching the area as Syaoran made his way through the crowd, carelessly pushing people side.

"Syaoran!"

He turned around, hearing Meilin shout his name at the entrance. As he drew nearer to her, Meilin held up a tiny black device in her hand, and Syaoran frowned, his heart suddenly pounding with an unknown feeling.

"It's Sakura's ear piece," Meilin said breathlessly. Syaoran's eyes narrowed on the tiny device.

"Fuck!" he shouted, and he swung his fist out, connecting with the wall, the punch sending a resounding crack from the room. Meilin gulped, seeing a few eyes stray towards their direction as Syaoran pulled his fist back, his knuckles now a bleeding red.

"Why are you doing this?"

Syaoran and Meilin blinked,

"Tomoyo?" Syaoran questioned,

"**I-It's not me…It's Sakura."**

"Because I hate people like you. You give women a bad name. You're married! Your husband obviously loves you; he buys you all these things, and rents you these beautiful rooms, why aren't you satisfied? How could you dance with a random stranger when your husband's out making money to make you happy?"

"**That's not the manager,"** Eriol said quickly,

"But I've heard that voice before…" Syaoran muttered. His mind flashed back to their first entrance, trying to remember what had happened. Sakura and Eriol had checked in first, setting their image and the playfield to the best they could to give them the advantage. Syaoran had walked in after, and came up next to them in the check in line while the two talked with the girl who checked them in…

The same girl that worked at the check in table as Eriol and Sakura talked with the manager earlier that morning…

The same girl that welcomed them to the entrance of the ball room…

The same girl that stood behind the manager as Syaoran felt the tingle in his neck that signaled someone watching them as they danced.

Syaoran set out in motion again as he dashed to the check in desk. The guests in line shouted in protest as Syaoran pushed passed them, reaching the desk, ignoring the shouts behind him

"Sir you need to—"

"FBI," Syaoran flashed his badge, his eyes flashing equally as dangerous, "Where is that girl who worked at the check in?"

"Who—"

"The _girl_ who worked _last night_ and _this morning_." Syaoran repeated in a dangerously low voice, drawing close to the intimidated young man,

"I-I don't know—the only person working was Madison."

"Where is she?"

"S-She's off tonight…"

"No she's not. She was here. I saw her at the door," Syaoran jabbed his finger to the entrance of the ball room, the young man looked shakily from his computer to the door then back,

"I-I don't know. The last time I saw her was a few minutes ago, s-she asked for a duplicate key to the pent house suite. She said a guest had forgotten hers, and was waiting for her at the ball room door. I looked, and there was a guest there standing outside!"

Syaoran left before hearing the rest of the story, dashing to elevator where he pushed the people out, going in with Meilin following close behind and pressed for the top most level. He cursed under his breath as the light slowly lit up as each level passed.

"M-Madison, the check in girl?" Meilin panted.

"It fits." Syaoran said tightly, "She was here when we first checked in, she heard everything Sakura and Eriol said, she was here at the ball room. She can get access to all the rooms, and she would know exactly which guests were where, and where all the staff are to avoid detection."

The elevator rang at the arrival of their level, and the door barely slid opened before Syaoran dashed out with Meilin close in tow.

"**Lee Madison, lived with a single father, her mother left her when she was young—oh god, her mother left when her father lost his fortune to the stocks for his business partner. Her father died three months ago due to lack of treatment..."**

Tomoyo's voice buzzed unimportantly in Syaoran's mind as the door to the pent house suite drew nearer. Taking a breath he positioned himself in front of it, pulling a gun hidden from the bottom of his jeans, Meilin doing the same. They paused as they mentally gathered their bearings. All of a sudden they heard a screech from their ear piece and a loud thud, followed by scrambled voices, one of them belonging to their liaison. With a sudden fire, Syaoran burst into action and rammed his shoulder into the door.

Xx

Sakura's eyes narrowed onto Madison as the young girl glared at the woman before her,

"It's all your fault. All you care about is the money, don't you know _who_ earns the money? He works so hard for you to be happy, how could you just leave him like that? How could you?" Madison shouted angrily,

"You killed the other two because they didn't care about their husbands," Sakura said slowly

"They didn't deserve them!" Madison shouted, "All they do is party, when their husband does all the work! They don't deserve anything!"

"So you dressed them in the dirtiest clothes you can find…you dump them into the dumpster because they're garbage. That has nothing to do with you…what they do, with or without their husbands…"

"Yes it does!" Madison screamed, "It does! They're going to be terrible mothers, I am saving their children from the inevitable! P-People like you…you…you will do exactly the same!" and she lunged, her eyes blinded with tears as the knife surged forward.

_Pull your opponent __towards__ you. Give yourself the leverage. Be the unexpected; never do what he expects you to do._

Sakura's eyes sharpened as she twisted her body, flattening onto her back on the couch. She hissed as the blade cut through the threads of fabric, and slashed across her stomach. Raising her bounded hands, Sakura grabbed the arm that was just inches above her, and pulled it towards her. Madison shouted, feeling her elbow bend at the pull, and Sakura twisted the arm, swinging her legs off the couch to completely knock Madison onto the ground, knocking the knife from her hands.

Sakura shot up, reaching for the knife, only to let out a pained shout when Madison shot up, pulling the hem of Sakura's dress, causing the agent to stumble backwards, the heels she wore doing no help in keeping her balance. Sakura grunted as she crashed onto the floor, the back of her head hitting harshly onto the edge of the couch. She felt her breath rush out from her lungs at the impact, her sight flashing a quick white, her skull aching. Madison crawled on top of her, a murderous glint in her crazed expression. Sakura pushed her bounded hands up, pushing with all her might to keep Madison's body away from her. As her wrist struggled, she could feel the ties of the knot slowly starting to loosen.

But not fast enough

Madison wrapped her hands around Sakura's throat, squeezing it with all her might. Sakura coughed, her legs thrashing as her oxygen supply was abruptly cut off. The fall had left her temporarily breathless and she hadn't had time to draw another breath before Madison had gotten on top of her. She could feel her holstered gun brushing against her thigh as her sight erupted in dots. The only thing she could do was try to fight the girl off, praying the knot would loosen enough.

Her training was ingrained in her like a second nature. People use up their oxygen twice as fast when they are afraid, or panicked, their breathing quickening to twice the speed, and breaths become shallow, reducing the amount of oxygen entering the body by half. However, even if you didn't take a full breath, your body still has oxygen in its body, and they last depending on how fast your heart is pumping—the faster your heart, the more oxygen you used…the quicker it ends.

Sakura held her breath, knowing that her constant shallow breathing would only increase her heart rate even faster. But even as her emergency training kicked in, her lungs burned for the air to keep her functioning. As she made one, slightly weaker, attempt to fight Madison off, the knot slipped off, freeing her hand. In an instant, Sakura's heart sped up at the sudden excitement and the prospect of getting out of the unfavourable situation. Her right hand reached down as her left hand clawed at Madison's hands around her neck. Her sight was beginning to swirl, and as she reached down, her fingers could feel a sticky wetness that she hadn't notice before.

Black was beginning to edge into her vision; she weakly unhooked the gun from its holster, and quickly brought it up. Similar to how Madison had positioned the knife at her, the barrel faced Madison's stomach directly, and Sakura's hands wavered at the trigger.

_Do it, do it, you have to or you'll die!_

Her index finger closed in on the trigger, and she could feel her entire body shaking, both from the heavy weapon, and from her body beginning to shut down.

The room echoed with a gunshot as Sakura felt Madison's hand slacken around her throat. With her eyes barely opened, Sakura watched the blury sight of the young woman's eyes widening as she slumped and collapsed, falling to her side. All of a sudden, the cool oxygen rushed into Sakura's bruised throat, and she coughed harshly, her heart speeding up, and her blood rushing without the oxygen it needed to repair her body.

Syaoran's arms remained steady and still as he slightly lowered his raised gun, the one bullet he used being the only one he needed. He and Meilin rushed into the room, their guns still raised in precaution. Meilin immediately went to the fallen murderer, checking her pulse quickly, her gun still trained on her.

Syaoran, on the other hand, had went directly to Sakura, who was still on the floor, coughing, her face an unhealthy white, save for the red hand print around her throat. Her dress had gathered around waist, revealing her bare legs, but the only thing he saw was the gun that Sakura still held in her hand.

"Are you fucking stupid?" Syaoran spat as he knelt down. He quickly lowered and holstered his gun, trusting Meilin to cover him as he gently took Sakura in his arms, raising her slightly as she coughed,

"Shut up," Sakura said hoarsely,

"Why didn't you shoot? You had the gun why the hell didn't you shoot? Do you have a death wish or something?" Syaoran asked coldly. He could never, and would never admit that his heart had pounded harder than it ever had when he crashed into the room, seeing her semi still body under their suspect. He had to train and order his body to not shake as he held her light form. Sakura refused to answer him, choosing to raise her hand over her stomach, unable to muster the energy to get herself up.

Syaoran frowned, but kept an arm around her as he made a move to carry her in his arms. He froze when Sakura winced sharply, and let out a sharp hiss of pain,

"What's wrong?" Meilin said quickly having after determined Madison was dead. Sakura opened her eyes weakly, lifting her hand off her stomach, only to see it covered in a sticky, red substance.

"S-Sakura y-you're bleeding!" Meilin gasped. Syaoran's eyes widened slightly at the deep gash and the blood the flowed from it.

"S-So that's what it was…" Sakura whispered weakly. She could feel her mind going, and her body finally shutting down. The last thing she saw, as the darkness took over, was two blazing, amber fires.

* * *

**A/N: My longest chapter yet. Leave a comment and let me know what you think!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: Eye to eye**

* * *

"_**What happened? Did they find her? I heard a shot!"**_

Tomoyo's panicked and frilled voice echoed in Syaoran's ear piece, but his mind made no significant register to it. He could hear Meilin's harsh breathing as she worked to keep up with him, and from his peripheral vision, saw her ruby amber eyes shifting from him to the body in his arm in anxiety.

Syaoran could tell she wanted to say something, but she knew better and knew him well. His stiff shoulders, creased forehead and deep frown were a clear signal for anyone to be out of his way lest they want to suffer his wrath.

And no one wanted that.

"Syao we can't just leave Madison's body there," Meilin finally broke the heavy silence as they made their way through the hotel,

"I don't give a fuck."

"Li Syaoran be reasonable, you're going to leave a dead, murderer in the suite of one of Tokyo's finest hotels?"

"Yes."

"Syaoran—"

"Just get Eriol to deal with this!" Syaoran snapped. His hold on Sakura's semi still body tightened and he focused at cooling his temper and keeping his boiling blood at bay. If it hadn't been for the fact that Syaoran was more concerned about Sakura lying on the floor, he would have jumped the murderess himself, and had Meilin's shot not been dead accurate at finding the pumping organ in their suspect, Syaoran would have lost all control after seeing the paleness and vulnerability that was Sakura lying on the carpeted floor of the hotel.

She looked so pale. Too pale for his liking. He thought of how rosy and red and vivacious she had been in the gym, and on the dance floor just mere hours before, and his teeth clenched. The slow breathing unconscious body in his arms was not the vixen that taunted and teased and haunted his dreams and waking hours.

It just wasn't her.

It wasn't Kinomoto Sakura.

She weighed like nothing in his arms, but he knew, from personal experience, that the woman worked out as hard as a man could, and if she were awake or strong enough right now to see that he was carrying her like some damsel in distress, she would have him on the floor in a second.

He bit back a laugh. Definitely less than a second.

"Mei," Syaoran spoke suddenly, "Get Tomoyo to call for medics."

"Sakura?" Meilin screeched, stopping in her steps, thinking something worse than what had already happened was happening,

"We can't bring her into the hospital by foot, we'll attract every single eye in the street, and unless you know how to handle the press, we need an ambulance," Syaoran snapped. Meilin bit her lip, and turned to the corner, quickly pulling out her phone to dial for Tomoyo, explaining in a hurried hushed tone. Syaoran could already hear the loud and easily recognizable squeal that was a panicked Tomoyo.

"You've barely been here for two months and yet you've turned our team upside down." Syaoran muttered as he looked at her unconscious expression. Paleness aside, she looked as if she was almost sleeping…and so defenseless.

Was this what she looked like without her tough façade? Without the cunning smirk, sly brain and quick come backs?

That thought alone did not sit well with him. Not at all. And with that thought in mind, Syaoran quickened his paced, solely focused on getting the unconscious woman in his arms back to the form that she was supposed to be in.

XXX

The lobby of the Four Seasons was in a complete and utter mess. As a part of the hotel's shut down operation, all registered guests had been asked to vacate their rooms, and head to the lobby where they were to await for instructions. The lobby was currently packed with guests both young and old, rich and not so rich, their voices all muddled into one multi pitched anxious wave of whispers.

"Did you hear that shot?"

"Do you think someone was killed?"

"I should just sign out!"

"My belongings, what are they going to do with them?"

"Why the hell won't anyone answer our questions?"

Eriol and Tomoyo stood at the far corner of the lobby, their FBI vests wrapped securely around them, their gun prominent on display in their holster (which was what effectively drove people away from them). Eriol's forehead creased,

"This isn't good. The media's going to get wind of this fast," Eriol muttered,

"And how are we going to get Sakura-chan through this mess of…_people_?" Tomoyo snapped. She could understand Eriol's priorities, as worried as he was about the safety of his team members, he was also bogged down with the responsibility of representing the FBI, and the FBI does not lose control.

And Eriol hated to admit it, but this situation was borderline losing control.

He was expecting an injured team member, a dead murderer in one of the suites of the finest hotel in Tokyo, he had hundreds of elite, high profiled and not to mention rich guests packed into its lobby, an ambulance on the way, and probably every available media in the city all heading to this place, and he was down his only media liaison.

It was all his worst scenarios mixed into one.

"Tomoyo how good are you at handling press?" Eriol asked with a thin lip. Tomoyo looked at him,

"I hope by that you mean how fast I can delete their entries, resume, and any thread of a trace of employment history on the face of this planet."

"You know what I mean."

"If they shove a camera in my face I will take it and shove it back!"

So that was out of the question.

"_**Eriol, Tomoyo we're almost at the lobby!"**_ Meilin's voice pulled them out of their consultation, and they quickly sprung into action- Eriol motioned for the available hotel security and police present to begin paving a way for them, having been informed that a wounded federal agent was arriving.

"Eriol they'll see, Sakura won't be well enough to handle the cameras." Tomoyo hissed as she shoved herself through shoulders and elbows.

"We'll have to play it by ear," Eriol said through tight lips, "We'll use the story of the murdered women, and say that Sakura was the latest victim and we caught the murderer."

"Sakura's our media liaison Eriol, her name is always on the news; we're going to tell the public that a _federal agent_ was a victim?" Tomoyo asked skeptically.

She didn't want to question Eriol's decision, not when he was their team leader. She knew he was perfectly capable of handling the situation, he would not be lead if he didn't know his stuff. But Tomoyo had less to worry about, the analyst could care less about what the FBI looked like, she cared about her friend's safety, and the fact that Sakura was the face of the press made the situation all the more precarious. A normal federal field agent being injured was one thing, but to have the communicator between the press and the FBI (which contained more secrets than known) being injured opened up a whole new level and meaning of 'walking on thin ice.'

Eriol had no time to consider Tomoyo's words, because the elevator door slid opened, and Syaoran and Meilin shot out of it before the doors were fully opened.

It was as if a dam was opened and the water gushed out without control.

All of a sudden the lobby turned deathly silent, and then like a gun cracking the silence, the whispers and gasps rose to a whole new level, all because of the body currently in Syaoran's arms. Eriol furrowed his brow, and expertly trained himself to ignore the squeals and shouts and gasps of the people currently pushing against the human barricade the security and police officers formed.

"The ambulance is outside; we have to get out of here." Eriol said in a hush whisper.

"Hide her face." Syaoran said sternly. He eyed the ruthless crowd with his stern amber eyes and frowned. He'd be damned if he let them see Sakura the way she was, when she wasn't able to fight back herself. No one fought Syaoran's stern and direct order. Eriol instantly took off his FBI vest, and covered Sakura's unconscious face, leaving only her disheveled gown public.

"Let's go," Meilin took a deep breath. They surrounded Syaoran like a human shield, Eriol at the front, Meilin and Tomoyo on either side of Syaoran. Syaoran, being the tallest of them walked briskly and stiffly, making sure that not a single skin on Sakura's face would be visible past their human shield, while his amber eyes scanned the crowd as if daring them to utter a single sound against them, or make a single wrong action; if they dared, Syaoran would no sooner pounce on them, FBI regulation and policies be damned.

Outside did not fare any better. It was true the ambulance had arrived, but so had the press. There was nothing like the hint of a high profiled story that sent all available reporters and media channels racing— after all, who didn't want to be the one to say they were the first to break the news of a life threatening scandal right in the middle of their very own city?

"Back up! Step back!" Eriol shouted in a steely cold voice, his blue eyes glistening with the danger that was accompanied by his years of training in the FBI. The freedom of the press was a ruthless and tangled monster, not something to be messed up, nor something to be ignored. Cameras poked at them left and right, and shouts rang from every corner from reporters attempting to get their end of year bonus that this story would most certainly guarantee.

"One step and I will flip them so hard they won't even know what hit them," Meilin grumbled under her breath. In front of them the ambulance lights flashed and they quickened their speed. Their group quickly became hidden behind the ambulance's double doors, and Syaoran, being the one to carry Sakura, climbed in almost immediately.

"Let me down"

The voice was quiet, and noticeably weak but it drew his attention instantly; Syaoran glanced down, seeing movement the fluttering of her eyes. Glancing at the medics at hand, Syaoran gently placed Sakura onto the gurney.

"Syaoran stay with her, we'll meet you at the hospital." Eriol said quickly. Syaoran nodded mutely as the doors closed and he was left with his partner.

"I can wait until the hospital" Sakura mumbled, facing away from him and stopping the medics who tried to cut open her dress. Syaoran glared at her,

"You're fucking injured, stop being so stupid."

"I am not about to get treated lying naked in front of you of all people." Sakura snapped.

"God you stubborn, selfish woman!"

"Me selfish? How am I selfish?" Sakura snapped. Syaoran's eyes flashed dangerously, such so that some of the medics on board inwardly flinched at them. But Sakura stayed strong, her head whipping over to him, her eyes a similar icy cold.

"How can you just run off like that without telling anyone, did you expect us to knock down every single door in that hotel to find you? What if you hadn't had your microphone on you? What if we didn't get there in time, do you know the mess that you would have gotten all of us into?"

"I can take care of myself."

"Like hell you can!" Syaoran objected, "Does it look like you can right now? Do you look like you're in any position to say you can? I can't always follow you around to make sure you stay out of trouble!"

"You didn't have to help me. I didn't ask you to!"

"Then help yourself," Syaoran snapped, "You had a gun, and you didn't use it. What the hell did you learn from your training? If you don't even know how to use a fucking gun how the hell did you get here."

"Stop."

"Point and shoot. Between your own life and a criminal's, you should at least have a sense of preservation. Or were you scared?"

"Li Syaoran I said stop."

"Telling me to stop won't stop a murder suspect from killing you on the spot!" Syaoran snapped. "You think you're so strong and so independent, but you're not. You hide behind all those logistics and psychology bullshit because you're not sure about yourself! You can take care of yourself? How about trying to take care of the team, stop thinking about yourself and think about them! You scared the life out of Tomoyo, and Meilin nearly got herself killed trying to look for you!"

"Do not talk to me about hiding!" Sakura snapped, "You of all people have no right! Hiding behind your playboy cover, your I-don't-care attitude. You're just as insecure if not worse!"

The pair glared at each out as if they were in their own world. Syaoran's gaze filled with an amber blaze, fueled by the race and scare he had had seeing her unconscious body, angered by the fact that she wasn't taking care of herself, and furious at the fact that he, himself, was in fact caring about whether or not she took care of herself.

Sakura's glare froze over. He had no right to tell her what she was doing. He didn't know a single thing that happened to her. Her fist clenched around the gurney's covers, she could still feel the cold metal handle of her gun. She could feel the pressure against her hand as Madison had leaned over her, the barrel had been so close to flesh that a pulling of the trigger would have sent the offending girl reeling, and off her— at such close range, chances of survival were nil. Sakura shut her eyes, her mind echoing with the cracking sound of a gunshot, vibrations going up and down her arm as if she had shot it. It sent chills down her spine, and unwanted memories to invade her brain.

"_Do not think about it. He doesn't know. They don't know."_

"Next time. Save all of us the wasted time, and pull the damn trigger." Syaoran snarled coldly before turning away. Sakura turned away as well, seeing her partner's reflection on the window,

"_It's easier to pull it on me instead."_

XXX

"_**It's here."**_

"_**Is it all there?"**_

"_**They've checked it, it's all there."**_

"_**Put it along with the stash."**_

"_**And the people?"**_

"…_**You know what to do with them."**_

_The storage room came to view as the door slid opened wider. There were people in there, and crates…lots of them. _

_Gunshots. Shots ringing loud and clear in the small room._

_Screams that barely made it out before it turned silent._

"_**W-What are you guys doing…"**_

"_**Sakura."**_

"_**T-This, this isn't right, what is this? This is illegal!" **__She couldn't move. She felt rooted to her spot. This couldn't be real, this couldn't be the people she had long considered her family, the people whom she had sworn with to promise they would protect what was right and true. She had to go. She had to tell someone!_

"_**Sakura stop!"**_

"_**Stop her!"**_

"_**No don't!"**_

_She spun around, her hand automatically drawing the gun from her holster, leveling to her eyesight. People came out at her and she poised to shoot, but someone came out, blocking her._

"_**NO!"**_

_The crack broke the air. It was too late. The bullet fled the barrel and cut through the air, only stopping when it met its fleshy obstacle. Those eyes widened; those deep brown eyes that had looked at her so warmly, so lovingly and so protectively widened as pain filled them, and her eyes stung with the warmness that filled her eyes as her whole body began to shake._

_Her hands lowered the cold metal weapon, shaking, her nerves and senses sensitive to every touch and noise. She looked at the weapon in her hand and dropped it with a clatter, looking at it as if it was pointed at her, ready to shoot._

"_**S-Sakura"**_

"_**I-I didn't-I didn't mean to." **__She stuttered. The body in front of her fell as her eyes followed. Her mind begged for his eyes to open again—just once, just one more time so that he knew she didn't mean to shoot him, that she just wanted them to do the right thing._

_They opened._

_The eyes filled with pain, sadness and love were not the warm brown eyes-they had become amber._

_A burning shade of amber that held no room to blame her._

"_**Syaoran!"**_

_She looked around the room, they were no longer the people she had worked with the moment she stepped out and graduated from the academy, no, the figures that had first ordered her impending death had shifted and transformed into the people she worked with now, people she had grown close to – Eriol, Tomoyo, Meilin…_

Sakura's eyes snapped opened, and she made to shoot up from her spot.

"Shit…" She hissed her eyes shut in pain as a sharp sting shot through her body. She tried to quickly get a bearing of her surroundings—the less than comfortable bed, the subtle beeping, the recognizable subtle wafts of chemicals, and an IV attached to her arm; she was at the hospital.

The stinging subsided as she made to calm herself down, leaving a numb feeling across her navel and she glanced down, running her hands gently over the thin hospital gown. She could feel the gauze that wrapped her stinging wound, and she remembered.

The hotel.

The fight.

Madison.

The knife.

The gun.

"Ah, I see you're awake Agent." A foreign voice broke her concentration. She turned to look at the doctor who had walked in with a board in her arms.

"How are you feeling?"

"Good."

"Hm. Any dizziness, soreness, nausea, headaches?"

"No."

"Agent do you know what happened to you?"

"I got cut, I get it," Sakura said in a cautious voice. The dream was still haunting the deepest recess of her mind, and being in the hospital being inspected and interrogated by a doctor was the last thing she needed. She needed to get out. She needed to breathe.

"Agent Kinomoto, if you are aware of what happened to you, then you should also know that I have to insist you stay in bed at least for the remainder of the day."

"I'm fine." Sakura said shortly, "Just give me my papers please, and please inform my superior that I can return to my job."

"I must insist—"

"_Please_ just sign my release." Sakura said in a ice thin voice.

"Causing trouble even in the hospital?" said a third voice. Sakura closed her eyes, she could match the voice to the image of the fallen man in her dreams—no, her nightmare. She didn't know if she wanted to feel relieved it was just a dream and that he was alive (and still obnoxious) or scared why he would even be in her dreams at all.

"I'll take over from here Doctor," Syaoran said coolly, stepping into the silent hospital room. The doctor sighed, scribbling a few notes on her clipboard and hanging it on the end of Sakura's bed.

"She is not to leave the hospital tonight." The medical expert said sternly, training a severe look on the young male agent. Syaoran nodded, arms crossed as the doctor left them on their own.

"Just get someone to sign the release papers so I can go." Sakura said stubbornly, refusing to meet his eyes. If she did …

_The dying amber eyes. The emptiness that stared back at her._

She shook her head.

It was a dream.

Just a nightmare…

A nightmare of a bad memory.

"You're staying the night. Eriol just signed in for your stay."

"Don't I have a say in this?"

"No. Now, who are we supposed to call?" Syaoran leaned against the door frame, observing the young woman on the thin hospital bed. He was expecting some sort of glare, or even her flying out of her bed, and beating him up like no tomorrow.

But she sat there with her face down, as if she couldn't bear to look him in the eyes.

"Excuse me?"

"Your family. Do we need to contact—"

"No!" Sakura snapped and for the first time since Syaoran entered the room, their eyes met, and locked. Sakura stared, her emerald eyes wavering as she got caught in the blazing amber that was in her dreams. They were so strong, such a burning fire in it that looked so inextinguishable … was it really that easy to make it disappear?

Syaoran returned her look. Her eyes were round, the shade of the deepest, and most precious emeralds. It held all the secrets and emotions in the world prison within its green glassy cage. So many emotions, so many different emotions that could be locked into just those eyes, the burning fire of determination, the narrow glare when she's annoyed…the glassy, vulnerability that she tried to hide so desperately, but would slip through the cracks.

"You're hiding something." Syaoran said suddenly, standing up from his leaning position and slowly walking towards her.

There. She looked down again. Again.

"Just…don't call, I don't want them to worry," she said in a quiet voice.

Another sign. The Sakura he knew did not speak in a tone any less than authoritative.

"You're hiding something." Syaoran repeated. Sakura took a deep breath.

"_You can do this, just look him in the eye, and tell him he's wrong. You can face diplomats ten times more annoying and stupid than he is, he's just one person. Just one."_

"What are you hiding." Syaoran said in a deadly deep voice. Sakura looked up, and shocked herself for a second, seeing his proximity to her. She had nowhere to run, attached to the IV hanging on the stand next to her, and the bed being only so big before she reached the edge. He leaned in, similar to when they had first met, and Sakura had teased him in her office, or when he had trained her in close combat, and they had ended crashing on the floor.

So close she could almost see her reflection in his eyes. Her reflection that could barely conceal her whirlwind of emotions.

"N-Nothing."

"Don't lie to me."

"Don't pretend you know me."

"Then tell me what's wrong."

"Nothing's wrong."

Syaoran narrowed his eyes, drawing dangerously close to her until they were almost nose to nose, their breaths mixing with each other, his deep, even, and dare she say suspenseful ones, mixing with her uneven, shallow puffs.

"Then when you were unconscious, why did you scream my name in fear?"

* * *

**A/N: I feel like a YEAR's worth of apologies won't be enough to cover for the absence and late update for this chapter. I was back from my trip long ago, and school has started again for me. I've hit a serious case of writer's block, plus an onslaught of school responsibilities and work. Please forgive me! I will continue to try to update and juggle my two current running stories! Please be patient with me, thanks!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: Just Because  
**

* * *

The silence that hung between them was almost suffocating.

Sakura's mind was running like crazy. Had she called his name while she was unconscious? What else did she say? Her trained mind was accessing ways in which she could escape this without detection, but her heart was pumping fear and anxiety through her veins. The sharp amber eyes that had previously held such a tempting flame now stared at her as if she were under interrogation, and he was the one interrogating her. She felt like a trapped animal, and Li Syaoran was the predator.

Syaoran could almost _hear_ the gears in her head turning. She may be a master in reading's people's intentions, actions, and deciphering their thoughts, but he was no amateur. He was a professional, the best of the best in the force. He was known for his attention to detail despite his lack lustre and devil may care attitude. But Li Syaoran saw and noticed all and everything. The fact that Sakura, the one woman who knocked him off his track, and shocked him time after time, was left speechless, and searching for an escape like a cornered animal both intrigued him, concerned him, and annoyed him all at the same time-intrigued because for someone like Sakura, with her level of training, wit, and zest, should have no reason to look as anxious as she looked now; Concerned him because he was not used to seeing her so helpless and cornered. It was the same feeling that had popped up as he carried her unconscious body in his arms, so weak and defenceless and unlike the independent woman he knew she was.

And annoyed…because why the hell would he be feeling _concerned_ of all things? And for _her_ of all people?

Neither had time to deal with their conflicting emotions as the door swung opened, and Tomoyo rushed in,

"Sakura-chan! Kami Sakura-chan!" Tomoyo squealed. Syaoran winced at the high pitched tone that attacked his ears, and while Sakura felt the similar ringing, she couldn't help but be grateful for the source of distraction that Tomoyo provided.

"I'm fine Tomoyo, really," Sakura said weakly, prying the analyst's thin but strong arms from her,

"You had us worried," Eriol said as he strode in, a content smile on his face now that he had confirmed his agent's safety and well being.

"Yea, I never saw him run so fast," Meilin added as she appeared next to Syaoran. Sakura's eyes skipped Syaoran entirely, smiling softly at Meilin,

"Thank you…and I'm sorry for causing so much trouble," Sakura apologized softly, "I knew I should have stayed but I was worried."

"It's ok," Tomoyo said quickly, "as long we you're safe."

"Although…" Sakura looked away, "I'd feel better when I don't have my entire back bare from the hospital gown."

And it was at that moment that Tomoyo made an ushering movement, almost literally throwing all the guys out of the room, leaving Meilin and Tomoyo inside to tend to Sakura. Eriol chuckled,

"The girls are pretty close now aren't they?" Eriol observed. Syaoran frowned, not quite registering what Eriol had said.

"Hey, have you done a background check on Sakura?" Syaoran asked quietly. Eriol raised an eye brow,

"Are you still that weary of a partner?"

"No. Now answer my question."

"Li you work for the government, the FBI no less, do you really think they'll let someone in without a background check?"

"What department did she say she worked for again?" Syaoran skipped to his next question,

"I forgot, a government branch or division."

"And we've gotten her old records for it?"

"Yes we do now tell me what is going on this instant," Eriol pulled Syaoran's arm to make the taller, amber eyed man look at him. Eriol's lips were in a tight line, and his midnight blue eyes narrowed as he stared at his best agent. "Why are you interrogating Sakura like she was a criminal? Why don't you trust her?"

"I need you to do more digging." Syaoran said cryptically. Eriol made to protest, but stopped, seeing that Syaoran's eyes were already long gone and far from where his body was presently at.

Syaoran crossed his arms as the gears in his mind turned. There was just…something…_something_ that struck him as odd. The sudden transferral, her obvious talent and qualifications that far surpassed their level of FBI. Hell, if she could she would probably be able to run the entire department hands down—with her level of concentration, determination and certainty of facts. And then there was the fact that she was still so defensive around them. She had warmed up to them, and had gone out with them on several occasions, but other than that, no one knew much about her family life besides the fact that she lived alone.

Then there was the fact that she had gun, but didn't use it. Every government professional, let alone an FBI agent, were trained and licensed to use a gun—and in the dangerous situation she had been in, there was no reason why she didn't use it.

Then there was the fact that she had, very clearly shouted his name while she had been unconscious. Syaoran shivered, he could still feel the goose bumps that ran beneath his skin at the chilling cry that had broken his concentration. Her brows had been furrowed; her lips tight and fingers clutched the hospital bed sheets. Cold beads of sweat gathered on her pale forehead, and she was muttering something after his name had escaped her lips in an eerie cry of terror.

What was it about her that got him all mixed up like that?

"Fuck." Syaoran groaned. This was why he never wanted a partner.

XXX

By the time Sakura got out of the hospital and escorted home by an overly concerned Tomoyo, her answering machine already had several-scratch that, several hundred messages for her. Most from her dad whom, she realized, she had failed to contact for the past several days she was working on the case. Turning the TV on, she carefully set herself onto the couch, careful of the stitching she received for her cut as the evening news blared.

_**In other news, police and authorities are still following up on the incident at Tokyo's Four Seasons Hotel from days prior. For the time being, the guests of the 5 star hotel have been offered an alternate location to stay for the duration of their visit, as the hotel continues to remain blocked off to public access until further notice. As reported, several bodies had been found near the hotel area in the previous months, and police have been investigating the case. Reports indicate that the perpetrator has been discovered, and the safety of the hotel guests remains the hotel's main priority. There have been reports of one casualty, and one injury. At the current time, the police department has not issued an official statement for the situation at hand. The Four Seasons Hotel has been a reputed 5 star hotel known for its high end décor and famous clientele. As such, stocks and revenue for the hotel has dropped—**_

Sakura closed her eyes. Of course there had been no official report; she wasn't in the best of state to have been giving a report to the cameras that were thirsty for a juicy story. Mentally, she stored aside a reminder for herself to begin drafting a brief statement, and calling Eriol for information that would be allowed to be released to the public to calm rising anxiety. Her eyes flickered to the blinking answering machine. No wonder her dad took up most of her space, the news of the hotel incident must have been a top story for the past few days, and her dad must have been worried out of his mind. Sakura groaned, she would have to get used to hiding her winces and move carefully without detection for the time being.

Closing her eyes, images of her night mares flashed beneath her eyelids, her emerald eyes snapping open.

"_Get a hold of yourself Sakura Kinomoto."_ Her mind chanted. There was absolutely no reason why she should be thinking about this all of a sudden. Her memories flashed back to her dreams, where she saw the dying amber eyes that stared back at her. Why on earth would he, of all people, be in her dreams…and in _that_ position? Had she really screamed out his name?

She had tried hard to hide her past from her friends and people she worked with. There was no reason why they should know, and absolutely no reason why she should tell them.

"_It's all in the past…forget it…just forget it, move on, and live your life_." Sakura chanted to herself. She felt her body relax, when a subtle creek broke the silence. Her eyes snapped opened, her hands automatically reached for the gun she never failed to have near her, and her muscles tensed as she scanned her modest apartment. Of course there would be no one; of course she was just paranoid. Her hands loosened on the handle of her gun, the cold metal sliding from her fingers. Even though she knew she would ultimately be unable to pull the trigger, the fact that she had it there comforted her.

She felt her muscles relax from the sudden tenseness, and she could feel her heart wrenching as she blinked back tears.

No. She could not forget.

And if she could not forget, how could she move on?

XXX

When Sakura got into work the next morning, Eriol was already in a meeting, and Meilin and Tomoyo were loitering around the desks.

"Sakura!" Meilin called, beckoning her over. Sakura pasted a quick smile on her face, having been detoured on her way to her office. The conversation she had with her dad earlier that morning was weighing heavily on her mind.

"Hey, everything's surprisingly calm today," Sakura joked,

"Well we don't have much of a case to work on with our liaison out of commission for a bit," Meilin joked softly. Sakura smiled back, still feeling the twinge on her side. Although the stapling for her stitches had been removed the area around her stomach was still sore. Eriol had already given the command that Sakura was to stay off the field as an active agent until she was given the full 110 percent from the doctors that she could return. Until then, she was stuck on desk and media duty.

"I'm looking forward to the files on my desk then," Sakura chuckled softly. "So where are the others?"

"Eriol's been in that room since we came in an hour ago with Syaoran." Tomoyo informed her, "We're just waiting to see if it's any new case we need to work on."

"Or maybe they're just talking about transferring me since we still haven't made a statement about the hotel incident," Sakura joked lightly.

"Never! You're the best we've ever had; if they do they'll go through me!" Tomoyo quipped quickly, her usually soft amethyst eyes hardened in a glare. Sakura could feel herself relaxing at her friend's protectiveness. There were times like these that made her believe that there was no need to be so constantly on guard around these people. They knew nothing about what happened, and with her training, she could sense they would not hurt her, or do anything to harm her in anyway. The doors of Eriol's office swung opened as both their team leader, and Syaoran stepped out. Almost immediately, Syaoran's eyes sought hers out, and as if by a magnet, her eyes locked right onto his and she couldn't look away.

Syaoran and Sakura looked at each other as the room and the people in them disappeared and left only the two of them in existence. Syaoran's amber eyes narrowed,

_What are you hiding?_

_Why do you think I'm hiding?_

_Don't lie to me._

_Don't make me. _

_Tell me._

_No._

_Why not?_

_Why do you care so much?_

Syaoran was the first to break the mental conversation, his eyes shifting to an empty desk. As far as he knew, neither Eriol, Tomoyo or Meilin caught their silent exchange. Sakura cleared her throat as the team got back together, Eriol offering his well wishes and how happy he was to have her back. The typical work related conversations turned into drones and fell onto deaf ears as neither Sakura nor Syaoran paid particular attention to what was being said.

It was a normal day at work, and Sakura would be damned if she couldn't make it as normal as she could.

XXX

It wasn't because the government worked them to the bone that they never got time off for themselves, but crime never stops, and so their jobs were never stable. One good thing about being on desk duty, and not on the field, was that Sakura now found a lot of time on her hands. Being FBI was like living a double life. There was no Sakura who was both a normal woman working as a FBI. There was Sakura the FBI, and Sakura Kinomoto the girl. And more often than not, Sakura the FBI would lurk behind the normal Sakura, with her trained instincts always at the ready.

It was tiring, to say the least, to have two alter egos. Sometimes Sakura wondered if she shouldn't just check into an insane asylum and claim she was bipolar.

On her days off though, she wanted and tried to be just Sakura Kinomoto, a young woman currently attempting to pick out furniture for her bare apartment. Picking out a couch is actually harder than it looks like. There's the fabric, the colour, the comfort level, how hard it was, how soft, if it would go with the rest of the room, where it would go, the list goes on and on and on…

"Staring at it all day won't make it magically appear at your house."

Sakura snapped out of her reverie as a suave, and slightly smug voice invaded her mind. She recognized the voice quickly enough (after all there weren't many people who could be suave and smug at the same time), and she instinctively steeled herself given the last time they had been alone together, she was in the hospital, and trying to hide her past.

"Are you stalking me?" Sakura swiftly transitioned into her smooth and cool demeanour. It was her most effective shield, and she prayed it worked. Syaoran got up from leaning on the side of the beige leather couch she had been staring at,

"No. You're not the only one who needs a couch you know," Syaoran said smoothly,

"There are plenty of other stores."

"I just happen to like this one. Deal with it." Syaoran smirked. Sakura bit back a small bubble of annoyance. Li Syaoran was the only one who could get under her shield like that and annoy the hell out of her. It was like a trivial elementary school play ground scenario—he the boy who always teased the girl, pulling her pig tails and dipping her hair in paste. Of course they were adults, and so hair pulling and glue would not work, instead he just resorted to pressing every button she had in her to annoy the hell out of her.

And he _knew_ where every, single, one of those damn buttons were.

He was the only one who could get beneath the professional shield she had built for herself, and it scared her. Scared her that he was able to get beneath her steel armour, and scared her because of all people, he was the one, and only one to do it.

"Well go pick your furniture somewhere else." Sakura ended the conversation abruptly, turning away from him so that she could collect herself. This was just a normal day for her, she reminded herself, a normal day, as normal Kinomoto Sakura…and normal Kinomoto Sakura had nothing to hide.

Another 30 minutes later, Sakura was officially the proud owner of a light beige couch complete with a matching armchair and complimentary coffee table. Now the problem stood at the fact that they were going to deliver it to her house now…and she lived in an apartment on the 7th level.

"Miss, can we get your address?" Sakura quickly jotted down her address as the boxes moved to a semi sized moving truck waiting for her to lead the way.

"I'm smart…very…very…smart." Sakura muttered at her predicament.

"I would beg to differ."

That voice. Sakura bit down a growl—that on its own was surprising as she prided herself in being calm and collected.

"Li, we are not at work which means I am not your partner right now. Can you please stop following me around?" She whirled around to find him leaning oh so casually, with his oh so devilishly charming smirk and burning amber eyes.

"I'm just curious," he said oh so casually, flipping his phone,

"Oh that's great." Sakura couldn't help but bite out,

"How is a tiny person like you, about to move boxes twice your size?" Syaoran smirked, Sakura glared at him.

"That is none of your business,"

"I thought you were ordered not to move around because of…" and Syaoran railed off, nudging his head to the part of her stomach that was still healing from the stab.

"I'll manage." Sakura bite out,

"You'll manage to find your way back to the hospital when you reopen that wound," Syaoran said seriously, standing up. He walked up to her, and in less than a second they were mere centimetres away. Sakura's breath quickened, quickly flashing back to their dangerous flirting in the office, and that moment in the hotel when she was trapped between the kitchen cabinet and his solid body. His raised his hands and Sakura's breath hitched. Syaoran quickly dipped his hand into her opened purse, and lifted her car keys, swinging it from his finger with a satisfied smirk,

"So, you'll be my GPS to your house." Syaoran said simply. Sakura blinked, for once in her life her mind couldn't catch up fast enough to what had happened.

"Y-You—my keys—"

"Yes I have your keys, and really I could just leave you here stranded, the movers have your address," Syaoran winked as he sauntered his way out of the store, pressing the alarm to her car to locate the black beamer parked across the street. Sakura still couldn't say a word, half in shock that despite her years of training Li Syaoran just stole her keys _right in front of her eyes_; the other half couldn't help but relish in the way her heart quickened and breath hitched and the euphoria that erupted through her at their close distance…like a normal young woman near an attractive man.

Sakura didn't like that only he could bring out such a normal reaction from her.

But the feeling of being normal was addicting to her, and she couldn't help but hold on.

XXX

Although Sakura would never admit it, by the end of the night she was more than glad that Syaoran had shown up when he did. The movers had been nice enough to deliver it straight to the service elevator, after that, it was 3 large boxes, and 4 other smaller (but still big) ones versus Sakura and Syaoran. It took more than an hour to bring the boxes up to her apartment with Syaoran swearing in a variety of words at the elevator with the occasional "why the hell would you make this a service elevator if you can't fucking fit three boxes" in at least 3 different languages.

By the time all the boxes were in Sakura's apartment, Syaoran had shed his trademark leather jacket, and his forehead was glistening with sweat matting his messy brown hair.

"That should be the last of it." Sakura let out a long breath as she finally closed her doors.

"_Should_ be the last of them? That better be the last one," Syaoran grumbled,

"I didn't ask you to come," Sakura said defenseively. Syaoran raised an eyebrow,

"Oh don't thank me, really it's not necessary. It was only 7 floors and boxes heavier than you are. What? Get me a drink? Oh you don't have to go through all that trouble of getting me a glass of water after I literally delivered your couch to the door." Syaoran replied sarcastically. He expected a glare, or maybe a crossed arm telling him to leave. He didn't expect to see the tips of her cherry lips lift ever so slightly in a smile, a soft giggle escaping her otherwise stern features. It lasted all of 5 seconds, but for 5 seconds, Syaraon was seeing someone new, and Sakura was being someone she had forgotten.

5 seconds came and gone, and Sakura quickly fixed her expression, and Syaoran rolled his eyes to resume his posture.

"So some water?" Sakura said coolly, quickly escaping to the kitchen. Syaoran didn't answer but the sound of trickling water and kitchen accessories moving clued him in on Sakura's movement. As he waited, his eyes wandered around her modest apartment. The walls were neutral beige, just slightly lighter than the colour of her new (damned) couch. The shelves on the side held little personal effects, just a few scattered frames of an older gentleman and older man whom Syaoran safely assumed to be her father and older brother. The walls were bare, save for a clock hanging at the top and a few spot lights. If Syaoran hazarded a guess, he would safely assume her room was the same – no personal effects, nothing that would tie her as a person to this room the called her home.

"I'm making some coffee, sugar?" Sakura interrupted Syaoran's covert investigation. He turned around,

"Black," He said quickly, his eyes automatically eying her up and down,

"Of course it is," she discreetly rolled her eyes and got back to work. Sakura's back was to the door, but Syaoran could tell by the way her shoulder was squared, and how she kept leaning her head towards different direction when she heard a random sound told Syaoran that she wasn't the least bit relaxed in her own house.

"Do you always wear your gun with you?" Syaoran suddenly asked. Sakura stopped midway, looking up,

"Excuse me?"

"Your gun, you still had it on you, have you had it since we were at the store?" Syaoran asked, Sakura looked back down and resumed her coffee making,

"Force of habit I guess."

"Quite a habit you got there, even I don't do that," Syaoran said casually,

"I see."

"Shouldn't you take it off now?"

"Excuse me?" Sakura looked up, her emerald eyes defensive,

"You're at home, I don't think you really need it." Syaoran shrugged as if saying the most logical thing in the world. Sakura paused for a second, her eyes wavering only briefly before looking down to finish her concoction.

"I will later." And she ended the conversation. A minute later she walked over with a steaming cup of coffee in hand, and handed it to him, "Thank you for helping me today,"

Syaoran took the coffee with thanks, leaning against the wall (his favourite pose it seemed), while eying her over the top of the rib of his cup.

"You owe me," he said simply,

"Yes, yes, oh great one who carried my boxes to my room, I am in your debt," Sakura rolled her eyes, a small smirk gracing her features which she hid with her own cup. Syaoran allowed a brief smile to flash across his face before pushing himself up, humming to himself as he walked towards her leisurely, circling her like a prey deciding on a decision. Sakura's eyes discreetly followed him, and Syaoran didn't miss how her body instinctively followed his wandering defensively.

"Why are you so defensive?"

"Really you're asking me why I'm defensive towards you? Mister I don't need a partner?" Sakura smirked,

"Not towards me. To everything. You're at home, you still have your gun with you, you're not even relaxed, you're currently following my every move as if I'm about to attack you." Syaoran stopped right in front of her, eyes blaring down at her, "Do you think I'm going to attack you?"

Sakura stayed silent.

"Do you think I will?" Syaoran repeated. He met Sakura's emerald eyes, which shook as she looked at him. This was the second time he had made her speechless.

"No." Sakura said shortly.

"But you are expecting someone to." Syaoran concluded. The way Sakura's eyes few to his, and widened answered his question. It didn't take an expert to figure it out—the look of pure shock on her face that broke through the armour for a quick second. Syaoran watched as she looked away, and struggled to regain her composure. Something inside him twinged.

"Sakura." He said softly, in the softest voice he had ever used. He raised his hand, and cupped the back of her neck, making her turn towards him. He could tell she was unnerved. Don't ask him how he could. He just could. He, of all people, could read her better than anyone else could. "What are you hiding from me?"

"Nothing."

"Don't lie to me, we went through this in the hospital," Syaoran bit out as softly as he could. This time he wasn't looking for an answer. Right now he didn't care for an answer, he wanted her to say something so that he knew how to help her. Because for some damned reason he _wanted_ to help her.

"It's none of your business," Sakura said coldly,

"Like hell it isn't," Syaoran bit back just as fast, "You don't really know who you are, do you? You're witty, and fast, and aggressive, and vivacious and annoying, and smart. And I _know_ you are smarter than this to hide everything from people who just want to help you."

"Don't pretend you know me," Sakura retorted, her body controlling her shaking, "You don't know me, you don't know who I am. What I've been through, what I've seen? You say all of that like you know but, but guess what Li Syaoran, not everyone is like you, with your devil may care attitude, and your "I don't care" vibe. You call my sarcasm, and my knowledge my way of protecting myself? What about you?" Sakura walked up to him, nearly nose to nose,

"You, Li Syaoran, have the biggest façade I've ever seen." Sakura whispered the last part, close enough to see her own face in his eyes as they stared at her. Her breath and words washed over him like a tidal wave, and for a still second everything stood still.

Sakura's breath rushed out of her during that minute that she had let herself and her defense go, and just spilled everything and anything that came across her mind. The emotional tide had left her raw, and emotionally defenceless and she could feel herself reel at being exposed so easily and so quickly. She was just about to pull back, when Syaoran's arms shot out and grabbed her arm. He pulled her towards him, and before Sakura could catch her breath, and Syaoran could realize what he was doing—he kissed her.

It was nothing like the flirtatious kiss they had shared in the kitchen of the hotel—where they tried to one up the other. It was nothing like the sexual tension that they both undeniably felt in each others' presence. This was different. This was _real_. Real to the point that Sakura could feel her rational mind telling her to back off and rebuild her shield _at once_, that this place she was in was hostile and dangerous territory. But her heart and something inside her told different. The part inside her that she tried to hide after_ it_ had happened kept her still, and frozen as the lips worked against hers, and she slowly responded.

Syaoran could not control his actions. He was a man of control and authority, and this was not something he could grab a hold of. Nothing about what he just did made sense, but at the same time it made all the right sense to him. He pulled away slowly, lips barely centimetres away from the other. He looked down, their breaths mixing as one as she looked up, reflecting his confusion.

"You can wear a mask and armour in front of everyone else, but don't you do the same thing to me." He whispered, his breath washing over her senses. A second later, he was gone, and Sakura was left alone in her apartment filled with boxes.

XXX

Syaoran sped through the streets, his mind forcing himself to think of nothing but what he had observed in her apartment, and what he had learned from being with her for the majority of the day. He knew it was wrong, what he had done. He knew, when he stayed outside the apartment listed in her personal file to wait for her to come out, and following her to the furniture store that he shouldn't be doing what he was doing. He was a federal agent, and even he knew what he was doing wasn't exactly legit. Hell he was spying on his own _partner_, the one person he had to entrust his life with in a split second.

So it made sense for him to want to get to know her…right?

So it made sense that he walked into the store pretending to have bumped into her, and made it so that she had no choice but to let him help her to her house. It was a free invitation right there as he helped her with the boxes, for him to finally see the personal life of Sakura Kinomoto.

And despite her bare house, and lack of emotional attachment to the place she called home, the nothing in her house told him a lot about her, things that opened up more doors and created more questions.

When he had questioned her, had meant to have her shut him out, to do what he expected her to do and not tell him a single thing. After all, for a woman to live alone in a neutral –almost cold—home, he didn't expect her to open up the way she did.

And open up she did, and it caught him off guard completely.

There she was, the vulnerability that she tried to hide, the part of herself that she tried to bury because of _something that happened_. It was that vulnerability that Syaoran could not take, because 'vulnerable' was not in her vocabulary or his. So when she called him out on his, Syaoran suddenly felt exposed.

Because no one had called him out on it before, and when he called her out on hers, and her to his, they were suddenly on the same boat.

Syaoran parked in the visitor's parking lot as he strolled up to a nicely lit condo. He buzzed himself in, and went up the elevator, where Eriol was waiting for him. Syaoran greeted him silently as they retreated to Eriol's room. Tomoyo was inside, dressed comfortably in a large t-shirt and shorts, making tea.

"How'd it go?" Eriol said quietly as they settled on the couch. Tomoyo joined the men, handing them their steaming cups and settling beside Eriol.

"I don't like this," Tomoyo frowned deeply. She had been completely dead set against the idea of spying on Sakura, "Why don't we just ask her?"

"Because that didn't work," Syaoran bit out. His hair fell over his troubled amber eyes,

"So what did you find out?" Eriol asked. He would have never condoned it, but as per Syaoran's request, he had pulled out Sakura's personnel file. Aside from her name, date of birth, social insurance number and her graduating year and marks, they were little on Kinomoto Sakura. Eriol had dialed the extension that first approached him with Sakura as a candidate for being an agent with his team, asking them to patch him through to the former department Sakura had been a part of under the pretense of asking a few questions, only to be shut down by short answers that did nothing for his curiosity.

Eriol pulled some strings after with some friends higher up, and they too had nothing to offer him. Eriol was not team leader for no reason, he could smell something fishy from miles away…and now it was right under his nose, possibly related to his own team member.

"I found out absolutely nothing." Syaoran said. Eriol furrowed his brown in confusion,

"What do you mean nothing" Tomoyo asked carefully,

"That's just it. There was nothing. Even at her apartment, everything was empty, bare, or generic. She only had a few family pictures, but other than that, you could walk in and wouldn't get a single clue of who would live there. Even a temporary inhabitant would have used some personal effects for a place they call home, so why not her?" Syaoran elaborated, "She carries her gun around with her everywhere, even at home."

"So? Eriol has his right by the bedside table," Tomoyo pointed out.

"He doesn't carry it on him _all the time_. She was out shopping for furniture and she was carrying it. She was at home _alone_ with the doors locked and she _still_ carries it. Even with her back to the door, and _knowing_ I was here, her body still turned to any noise it made, she was defensive and preparing to protect herself in her own home. That's not normal." Syaoran said. Tomoyo frowned. She didn't like that they were digging into her friend like this. It completely violated all sense of trust she wanted to have in their team. Sensing her discomfort, Eriol reached for her hand and held it, knowing her stance in all of this.

"We'll have to dig into the department. We can't go through official channels." Eriol decided. As much as he liked Sakura, there were too many holes coming up that he couldn't ignore. "Was there anything else?"

"No." the answer came out before Syaoran thought. Eriol narrowed his eyes behind his round glasses. He had known Syaoran since they were young and in the academy together. He knew Syaoran's personality like no other. He was a Li, and Li's don't like to show conflicted emotions, and Syaoran was. His expression showed his a inner conflict Eriol knew had something to do with Sakura, but not with what had just been disclosed.

"Why are you so intent on finding these things out about her?" Eriol finally dropped the bomb. Syaoran looked up, his amber eyes blazing; his mind whirled through a hundred different reasons to justify himself.

_Because._

_Because I want to know what makes her tick._

_I want to know what she's hiding and why._

_Because._

_Because we kissed._

_Because._

_Just…because._

And somehow, there was no justification…other than that fact that he _wanted to_.


End file.
